Family
by Landon Richardson
Summary: When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)
1. Play nice Commander McGarrett

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Governor Jameson and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Doctor Richard White, Agent Tristan Nichols and Agent Tiffany Pittman do belong to me though**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Hello and welcome to the second story in the ongoing 'Danni saga.'**

'**Family' is roughly based on the second episode 'Ohana' but I do mean roughly. The plotline of the case is the same or near enough the same but everything else is different. I like making things my own and I think the same thing will happen with this story.**

**If you haven't read 'The Beginning' then it might be an idea to go and do so since this is the second story in an ongoing saga. It's probably not imperative that you do, the sky for example isn't going to fall because you haven't but the story and the background would make sense if you did.**

**If you have read 'The Beginning' and are here for the second portion than thank you so much for sticking with me. It means a lot to me. After this one is a non-episode based story called 'Burn' which I know the basic plot for but obviously nothing else yet until 'Family' is finished. I thought about calling the story 'Ohana' but I decided to use the English translation of the Hawaiian words instead.**

**Erm there's not too much to say really.**

**This story is done from the perspective of all the characters though it focuses mostly on Steve. It will feature OCs, including one who will have a largish part to play but that's because in my mind it made sense. Doing these stories gives me a chance to change things which left me scratching my head thinking 'Why did they do it like that? It would make way more sense for this to happen instead?' That would make way more sense' No OC is simply there for the sake of it, all of them have a part to play and some of them such as the CSU agents and teams and the MEs will be in most of the stories.**

**Also I can't promise that the chapters will be as long as they were for 'The Beginning' but I promise I'll try not to leave you disappointed by the length. Also I plan to update once a week. I had planned to take a week's break before putting this story up but then it struck me that I had a lot of episodes and stories to get through so I didn't really have the luxury of waiting lol!**

**All that's left to say is that I hope you enjoy the story and stick with it **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve McGarrett's eyes snapped open, his gaze flickering around him taking in the bedroom he was resting in while he focused on steadying his heavy breathing**

Overall Romance

**Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)**

**Others though they are currently a secret which no one knows bar me!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

**I should state however that the absolutely overall goal is for McDanni to happen… what happens before that point though is something else entirely.**

Other note

**Nearly all the places I have stated are either made up or I've got from the internet so I'm sorry in advance if I get an address wrong or anything. My geography on Hawaii is very poor having never been there before!**

Other, other note

**There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interested in any of them then check them out. You can also look at my updated Bio page to see the order of things.**

**See I have been a busy girl **

* * *

Chapter One

Play nice Commander McGarrett

* * *

"_Steve…. Steve… Where are you Champ?"_

"_Dad?"_

"_Steve… Son where are you?" His dad's voice called out sharply as though he was scared, it sounded as if he was becoming fainter and fainter, as though his Dad was moving further away from him. Steve looked around him frowning as he took in his surroundings. He was standing bare foot in the middle of the North Shore beach. It was night time, the moon and stars which normally blazed the sky were gone leaving a blanket of darkness which seemed as though it was pushing down on him, smothering him, all he could see when he looked around was miles and miles of nothingness. No one was around him as far as he could see. He was alone. "Steve?"_

"_Dad?" He called out again, trying to take a step forward only to find himself frozen to the spot. He struggled, looking up as he called out again. "Dad, tell me where you are?"_

"_Champ? Champ everything you need to know is in the box. Look into it and find the truth. I know you can do it son"_

"_Dad?" He yelled again, flinching at the sound of a gun going off. He looked around him. "Dad? DAD?" Steve screamed. He stumbled forward as though he was suddenly released from his frozen state. He steadied himself on the sand, pushing himself from the ground and began running down the beach, looking around him frantically. "DAD, WHERE ARE YOU?"_

_His eyes fell on a lump on the sand a few hundred metres in front of him. He stopped, staring at it, reaching to his waist were he kept his gun only to find it empty. He cursed wondering where the hell his head was at. He never left without his gun, it didn't matter where he went. The Navy had taught him to always be prepared for anything._

_He ran up to the lump, swallowing hard when he saw it was a body and hunched down beside it. Reaching out he turned the body over, his breathe leaving him in a whoosh as he found himself confronted with his father's ravaged appearance. A large bloody hole in the middle of his face, destroying his familiar features. Steve stared down at him, bile rising in his throat as his father's eyelids snapped open, revealing lifeless cloudy eyes before his father's hand coming up and gripping his shirt._

"_Look into it Steve, look into it and find the answers. Find the answers."_

* * *

Steve McGarrett's eyes snapped open, his gaze flickering around him taking in the bedroom he was resting in while he focused on steadying his heavy breathing. He shook his head, reaching up and ran a shaky hand down his face.

It had been just a nightmare.

The same way it had been a nightmare for the past six days since he has climbed off the plane and stepped foot on Hawaiian soil. It was never quite the same, always different variations but always the same underlying message. His father was dead and nothing Steve did could change it. The injuries his father had were always consistent as well but he could place that down to the fact that he had read and then re-read the medical examiners reports on his father's death. How Hesse had killed him and the torture that Hesse had inflicted on him before shooting him at point blank range to the face.

He stayed lying on his back for a moment, turning his head on the pillow as he reached out and slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, stopping it just as it began to screech into life. A part of him was tempted to remain where he was but it was nothing more than a fleeting notion. It was Friday which meant that he still had a job to do. A job which needed him at his best.

Steve sat up, twisting on the bed and rested his feet on the cool wooden floorboards, breathing out slowly as his gaze came up to the window, focusing on the blue sky before he pushed himself off of the mattress and onto his feet. He yawned, running a hand over his hair as he headed towards his bedroom door, grabbing a pair of swimming trunks from the pile of clothing which he still needed to put away. He pulled them on quickly, heading down the stairs and through the house until he was in the kitchen, unlocking the back door and stepping out onto his own private beach area.

He needed to swim, swimming would clear the remainder of his nightmare away from his mind so he could focus on everything he needed to focus on that day.

Now that the Governor's personal taskforce was officially up and running and had been announced to the other departments and to the public they would start receiving cases for them to work on either from the Governor herself or from HPD or one of the agencies which were littered around the island.

Steve glanced around him, breathing in the crisp air as he looked for threats before he ran lightly down the beach and dived into the water, the shock of coldness bringing him to his senses as he began to power through the waves, getting lost in the familiar routine.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he finally turned reluctantly to the beach and climbed out of the water. He grabbed the large towel he had left on one of the chair and rubbed it over his hair and face before he moved back into the kitchen, dumping the towel on the side and grabbing the kettle instead, filling it with fresh water and putting it back on the hob. He was in desperate need of some coffee to finish what his swim had started.

He would have to buy himself a coffee machine eventually, adding it to the ever growing list of things which he needed to get to make his father's house modern enough for someone to live comfortably in. Nearly everything in there was something which he remembered from his own childhood. He couldn't live in peace if he was constantly surrounded by reminders of what he had lost when he was a kid. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't even sure whether living in his family home was a good idea for him. The sensible thing would be to put the house on the market, split the money with Mary and then use his own portion to buy himself a small place on the island which would be his alone.

The only problem was the fact that he couldn't bring himself to do it. His family had lived in the same house since his grandparents, as far as Steve knew it had been passed down through his father's side, Even when his grandfather had died at Pearl Harbour, his grandmother hadn't sold it, instead renting it out when she had moved with Steve's Dad and his Uncle to the mainland to live. His father had moved in when he and Steve's mom had moved back to Hawaii.

It would feel wrong to have anyone else living there apart from him or Mary.

Not only that but Steve needed the ocean like he needed to breathe and he highly doubted he would find anywhere else which would give him unlimited access to it especially considering how much houses were going for at that moment. Steve could put up with the memories if it meant he could go swimming every morning and evening.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter, his eyes moving critically over the kitchen as he waited for the water to finish boiling. The kitchen definitely needed a hell of a lot of work done on it. There was nothing in the room which didn't look worn or damaged in some way, even the faded paint work was peeling. If his Aunt ever flew over to see him then she would shriek in horror at the place before throwing Steve out, rolling her sleeves up and getting to work on making the place liveable.

He frowned slightly to himself as he thought about what needed to be done. It would be a good project for him, something which would fill up his empty weekends. He could spend the time turning the place back into the happy place he remembered growing up in. The only difference was that this time he could do it as he wanted, getting rid of all the old and started anew.

Maybe he could bring his new partner Danni Williams with him when he went to the shops to pick up the materials and paint. She had mentioned to him a couple of days previously that she had redecorated her home by herself and she had handpicked the colour scheme for their headquarters, picking a colour which all of them had liked. There was no reason why she couldn't do the same for his house. She could plan it, pick everything and Steve would do the work. It would be a win, win situation for him, giving him the chance to spend more time with her outside of work so he could learn more about her.

He blinked when he realised the kettle was whistling at him and turned the flame off, opening a nearby cupboard and grabbing the first mug he found. He quickly washed it out before putting a spoonful of instant coffee in and adding the water to it, stirring it absently. He glanced round once more at the kitchen before dropping the spoon on the side and picking his mug up heading up to the bedroom which he had taken for himself. That was another room which would need a lot of work done on it.

Steve placed the coffee on the bedside table and sighed, rubbing his hand over his tired eyes before he turned and headed into the bathroom. He quickly showered and dressed, grabbing the first thing which he came across from the rucksack he had brought with him. Now that he was staying in Hawaii he would have to contact someone in his old unit and ask for them to pack up the belongings he had left behind and send them to him.

He ran a hand through his damp hair, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip before he left the bedroom and went into the dining room. Placing his drink on the table he moved into the old study and grabbed the rusty red tool box, moving back into the dining room and placed it on the table.

He stared at it for a moment, eyes narrowed as they scanned over the familiar sight. There was nothing special about the box and yet his father had clearly thought that it was important enough to spend his last few minutes alive trying to tell Steve about its existence. He had found it as soon as he had come home and had looked at it and its contents many times, more since the Hesse case had finished but he still didn't understand what it was exactly he was meant to be looking for.

Steve shook his head, growling slightly in frustration as he reached forward and flipped the tool box open, looking down at the contents again. The only thing Steve could gather from the mix match of items was that his Dad had been investigating something but there was no notebooks or anything which could tell Steve what that investigation actually was. Steve saw random photos, a key which didn't fit into any lock in the house, there were random maps of Japan and Hawaii and god knew what else but nothing about the contents made sense.

He knew the sensible thing to do would be to take a step back and allow Danni and Chin Ho Kelly to take a look at it and see what they made of it. Danni was already one of the most talented Detectives Steve had come across during his travels while Chin had been his father's partner for fifteen years and had been trained by him. If anyone could figure out the way his father's mind had worked then it would be Chin.

Between the two of them they would probably be able to tell him what his father had been doing but he found himself strangely reluctant to actually do it. His father had hidden the tool box and what he was doing away from everyone which told Steve that he hadn't wanted anyone to know about it. Something about that told Steve that it would be better for him to keep this to himself for now. If it something dangerous then he didn't want to involve them in it until he had no other option but to involve them, especially not Danni who was a mother.

He reached into the box and took out the Dictaphone, sitting himself in the chair by the table and staring at it. It had become a ritual for Steve to listen to the tape each morning. The first time he had heard the sound of his father's voice, he had cried, finally shedding the tears of grief he had been keeping hidden from everyone. Now he could listen to the tape without crying though he still got a lump in his throat. Licking his lips, Steve pressed down on the play button, leaning back in his chair and listened.

"When he was five years old, I asked my son Steve what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said 'I want to be a cop Dad, like you'. I told him to be anything but that. The life of a cop is not easy. It's not that I'm not proud of the work that I did, but more than anything, I have, uh, I have regrets. The toll that it took on my family, the way it hurt them. It's, uh, it's something I think about every day. Now I'm, uh I'm alone here. Losing my wife was almost unbearable. But giving up my kids, that, uh that just broke me. I'm so proud of them, but they'd never know it. I've missed so much of their lives, you know, watching them grow up and all. I guess that's the way it has to be, till I figure this out…"

Steve blinked when his cell phone suddenly went off. He stopped the tape, taking a moment to compose himself before he reached into his pocket and answered his phone without bothering to look at the screen.

"McGarrett."

"Hey" Danni's voice said causing a slight smile to come to his face. She sounded happy which probably meant she had already had the first of her morning coffees. Steve had made the mistake of calling her before she had one, two days previously and it was an experience he was not willing to go through again unless he really had to.

"Hey yourself" Steve responded.

"I'm just calling to see if you wanted me to pick you up today?" She asked him. He could hear her moving around, the radio playing in the background which probably meant that she was getting her daughter ready for school.

"What time are you thinking?" He asked her.

"Seven thirty?" She answered promptly.

"That's early for you" He remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, Duncan and I went to dinner last night and we spoke about Grace and we've enrolled her into the breakfast club at her school which starts at seven fifteen. You're pretty near the school so it should only take me about ten to fifteen minutes to reach out from there as long as I don't get caught in the morning traffic."

Steve remained silent for a second, his mind drifting over her casual comment about her and her ex-husband having dinner together before he forced himself to speak.

"You know that I know all of the shortcuts on the island, if you let me drive Danno when you get here than we won't get caught in any traffic. We'd probably set a new world record on getting to headquarters from here." He commented, he couldn't help the grin which came to his face when he heard Danni laugh down the phone at him.

"Nice try" She said, a warm undercurrent to her voice. "But I seem to remember telling you that you were on at least a five month ban when it came to driving my car because of a certain reckless stunt you pulled with a police car and a Chinese freighter three days ago."

"That certain reckless stunt you're talking about worked and therefore I shouldn't be punished for it. Besides Danni, I would treat your baby with all the respect it deserved since it belongs to you. That police car didn't belong to anyone" He protested, leaning back in his seat, still grinning, trying to remember the last time he had just had a conversation with someone like this.

"Yeah, well maybe if you have a coffee ready for me when I get to your house then I'll think about lessening the ban." She answered.

"I can do that as long as you don't bitch about the coffee." He remarked

"Will you now well… Sorry give me a second Steve" she said, her voice becoming muffled as though she had covered the mouth piece with her hand. "Gracie bean? We're leaving in ten minutes, make sure you're ready to go… sorry about that." She commented, her voice becoming clear again.

Steve frowned when his phone suddenly started to beep at him.

"Danni hold the line for a moment, I've got another call coming through, it might be important."

"Okay I'll wait." Danni agreed. Steve nodded even though she couldn't see her and spoke, his voice becoming professional again.

"McGarrett"

"Commander, its Governor Jameson here. I have a case for you and your team."

"Okay" Steve answered with a raised eyebrow. "What is the case?"

"About thirty minutes ago a former NSA agent called Roland Lowry was kidnapped from his vehicle. I need you to find him and find him fast, I don't need to tell you just how important it is that he his retrieved. The information that he has in his head is of national importance, something I'm sure that the people who took him are well aware of." She stated.

"Have we got any idea what Lowry was working on for the NSA before he left them?" Steve questioned.

"No, all of that information is unfortunately classified Commander, I've already spoken to the Director of NSA in Washington and informed him on the situation. They apparently have a special agent who is currently on the island due to give a lecture at the Police Academy. The Director was going to get in contact with him and have him meet you and your tea directly at the scene. He has top level clearance and can access their database so please try and play nicely with him Commander McGarrett. We want to have the NSA on our side. If we handle this situation diplomatically then it would work out well for your team. Having the NSA owe you a favour is not a bad thing." She stated, a stern tone coming to her voice which caused him to roll his eyes in reaction.

"I understand Governor. Where was Lowry taken from?" He queried.

"According to the report he was taken from the Ala Moana Boulevard in Waikiki Commander. HPD have already secured the area for you and are waiting for your arrival. I'm also informed that Special Agent Moore has dispatched a CSU team who are already working the scene. I suggest you gather your team together and get down there as soon as possible,"

"Understood Governor, we're on our way." Steve answered.

"Just remember that the situation has to be dealt with delicately. There is a great deal more at stake here than just a kidnapped NSA agent." She remarked cryptically before Steve heard a clicking sound indicating she had hung up on him. He sighed, pressing the retrieve button on his phone and spoke.

"Danni, you still there?"

"Yeah I'm here though I'm about to leave. What was the call about? Have we got another case?" Danni asked him sounding curious over the phone line.

"Yeah we do, I'll fill you in when you get here."

"That's fine but I'm still not going to be able to get to yours until seven thirty and it's only ten to seven now. It might be better if you text me the address and I'll meet you there once I've dropped Grace off at the breakfast club. That way you can get down to the crime scene and start processing it, we can't afford for evidence to deteriorate while you wait for me." She pointed out.

Steve remained silent for a moment considering what she said before he nodded slowly.

"That's probably for the best. I'll text you, Chin and Kono the address of the crime scene. We can all meet there, get there when you can Danno." He told her.

"What did I tell you about calling me Danno Steven?" She demanded, a mixture of amusement and frustration coating her voice causing him to smile. "You know what don't even answer that I'll see you at the crime scene in about forty minutes. Try and remember the proper procedure and please for the sake of my sanity listen to Chin. He knows what he is talking about." She stated on a sigh.

Steve opened his mouth to defend himself when he heard the dial tone indicating that Danni had ended the call her end. He shook his head, tossing the Dictaphone back into the tool box and closed it, lifting it and taking it back into the study, storing it beneath the desk. He picked up his guns and his badge, placing it on his belt before glancing around him, snagging a dark grey shirt from the side and pulling it on over his t-shirt. He gave the room one more glance to make sure he had everything before he exited the house, moving down the driveway and climbing into his new blue truck which he had purchased a day after arriving on the island and making the decision that he was going to stay.

He quickly sent the address of the crime scene to his three team members with the order to meet him there before he pulled his seatbelt on and set off towards the crime scene. He wondered who the NSA agent being sent to them would be and what exactly he would be like. Knowing their luck he or she would be a stuck up dick who would want everything done their way.

He had been driving twenty minutes before he pulled his truck to the side and parked up, killing the engine and climbing out, his gaze moving around the scene taking in all the details available to him at first glance. A battered, black SUV was on its roof with its windows shattered, another white van stood nearby with all of the doors wide open. He frowned, moving closer to the tape, watching as a ME put a yellow plastic tarp over a man dressed in a suit on the floor.

"Hey, we got your text message Brah."

Steve blinked, glancing over his shoulder in time to see Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua approaching him from the right.

"Good, thanks for getting down here so quickly" He replied with a nod at them both, his mouth curving up into a slight smile.

"Where's Danni? Did you not arrive together?" Kono asked, looking around her with a searching look as though she expected Danni to be somewhere nearby talking to someone.

"Danni's on her way, she has to drop Grace off at her breakfast club first before she can join us. She's got the address though so let's get on with this." Steve answered her, he moved forward, his gaze flickering to the uniformed police officer standing by the tape. "Governor's taskforce, we'll take it from here." He told the man. The officer looked down at the badge Steve flashed him before he nodded, lifting the tape up for them to step under. Steve ignored him as he looked around him again, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Okay Chin and Kono I want you to take the SUV and see what you make of it. I want to build up a clear idea on what happened here. I'll deal with the van, Danni will be with me when she arrives so if you see her before I do then send her over to me." He instructed with a look towards them.

"You got it boss." Kono answered with a nod, slipping a pair of adhesive gloves from her pocket and pulling them on, her gaze already focused on the SUV with an analytical look which Steve hadn't seen before. He wondered briefly whether the Rookie had got the gloves from Danni who seemed to have a never ending supply on them stashed in her bag. For a moment the image almost made him smile before he forced himself to focus on the case at hand, moving away from his team and towards the van.

He stood looking at it for a second before his eyes focused on the tall, dark haired man dressed in a CSU jumpsuit who was working on the back end of it. He took a step towards him, crossing his arms over his chest before he spoke, raising his voice slightly

"What have you got?"

The man looked up, a confused look in his green eyes before his eyes dropped down to the badge on his belt, a look of recognition coming to his face which told Steve that the other units had been made aware of their existence, something which would make their lives easier.

"Nothing so far Commander" The man answered him in an Australian accent which told Steve instantly that the man in front of him wasn't a local or native to the island. "There's no fingerprints or anything like that so the men or women involved in this must have used gloves. We're still going over it but once you give the word we'll have the van and the SUV transported back to headquarters so we can go over them with our proper equipment. If they made a mistake then we'll find it." He assured Steve confidently.

"I want to have a look at the van myself before you take it back to your headquarters. I'll call you back over when I'm done, after that it's yours to work on." He instructed the man who nodded, his eyebrow rising slightly as though he was surprised by the request.

"Understood Commander" He replied before he leaned forward and banged his fist against the side of it. "Tiff, Commander McGarrett wants to have a look at the van, we've got to vacate" He said. Steve blinked when a woman suddenly stuck her head out from inside the van, her gaze flickering to Steve before it focused on the Australian man with a nod.

"Sure thing Tristan" She answered, climbing out and moving away. Tristan nodded at him before he too turned away and followed her.

Steve moved around the vehicle, focusing on the van. There was nothing about it which stood out; no logo on the side or the back to indicate where it had come from, the licence plate was still attached so they would at least be able to do a search on it though Steve was positive it would come back as stolen. Sighing, he hunched down looking at the floor, his gaze falling on a bullet casing which had fallen beneath the van. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pencil, using the end of it to pick the casing up and examined it closely, a frown of concentration on his face.

This would be something they would be able to use.

"Hey, what's the situation here then? What have we got?"

Steve glanced up, placing the casing back on the floor as he came to his feet, surprised to see Danni standing next to him, a questioning look on her face.

"Hey, you got here earlier than I expected you to." He commented, ignoring her question for the time being. Danni nodded at him with a shrug.

"Yeah I know, it turns out that I know a lot more short cuts then I originally though I did." She answered with a faint smile before her expression turned serious again. "What can you tell me about the case?"

"It's a kidnapping." He told her briefly. "The kidnapping victim's name is Roland Lowry, his car was T-boned and hour ago." He commented, waving his hand towards the totalled back SUV which Chin and Kono were still working on "Witnesses from the nearby building stated that they heard gunshots being exchanged and it looks like the passenger of the SUV were killed. All of this happened in broad daylight."

He watched as Danni's eyebrow rose as she looked away from him, her attention moving round the scene. He wondered briefly what she was thinking, whether there was something about the scene which she saw but he didn't. It had taken him less than a week to know that Danni's brain was wired differently to his. She saw patterns which no one else did and Steve didn't think he had ever come across anyone who was as good at reading people and body language than she was even though he had worked with every branch of the armed forces. It was like having a human lie detector for a partner though he also noticed that she tended to keep quiet about what she observed, something which intrigued him, though he knew that if he questioned her or pushed her then she would simply clamp up and he would get nothing out of her.

"And all of this happened in broad daylight?" She queried, breaking him out of his thoughts as she turned her attention back to him. Her face locked in her default thoughtful expression, the same expression which he couldn't read yet.

"It happened at six fifteen this morning." He confirmed.

"You know there's something which just isn't adding up here." She commented, crossing her arms over her chest, one hand moving through the air as she continued speaking. "This whole thing seems like a pretty messy grab to me to just yank an ordinary, everyday man from the streets. Whoever did this must have known his routines and what he would be driving and where he would be at this exact time? Which then begs the question of whether this was his actual route, if it is then why did he take this particular road? Was he on his way to work or was he heading somewhere different? Why this guy out of all the people out there? What made him so special that the kidnappers decided that taking in in such a public fashion with witnesses galore was a risk which was worth taking." She commented, her questions flying out fast though Steve had the impression that she didn't expect him to answer and that she was questioning herself.

"The guy they took isn't just some ordinary guy Danni, he's an ex NSA agent who used to have top secret clearance which means that his abduction could be a serious threat to national security. The Governor wants us to deal with this is a subtle manner and she wants us to bring him back preferably before he breaks and starts telling people what they want to hear."

"He's ex NSA?" Danni repeated sounding surprised as she reached up and rubbed at the back of her neck. "If he's one of theirs then they are going to be all over this. I highly doubt they ever really let one of their employees go without precautions in case something like this happened."

"Apparently they don't. They are already sending one of their agents to meet us here, apparently he was already on the island giving a lecture today" Steve told her, there must have been a note to his voice because she shot him a searching look before she spoke.

"Whatever you're planning to do you can stop it right now. You have to play nice with him Steven. We're going to need all the help we can get on this case especially when it comes to figuring out exactly what it is he was working on which made him a target". She warned him sternly. "I'm going to go and speak to Doctor White, the ME and see if he can provide me with a name for our two victims that we can look into. I'll also check out the licence plate on the van and see what pops up. It's probably stolen but you never know we might strike it lucky."

"I doubt we'll have any luck with this case but go ahead." He told her turning his attention back to the van and frowning.

Somehow he had the feeling that this was going to be the start of a very long day.

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.**

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to leave me a review or follow or favourite the story. It means more to me then you can know and makes all the hard work I put into this verse worth every second!**


	2. At the Crime Scene

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Governor Jameson and Roland Lowry do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here is the second chapter of Family for you!**

**I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous about this chapter but hopefully you'll all like it!**

**There's just a couple of points I need to get across at this point in time.**

**This story will be shorter than 'The Beginning.' The reason behind this is mainly because the episode is done in a day which means that mine will be done in a day. I'm thinking that the story will probably end up being between 10-15 chapters which will be good in a way because then it means I can work on 'Burn' for you all! The chapters are shorter as well, probably averaging between 3000-5000. Again this is on purpose due to the fact that I want faster, edgier chapters.**

**Secondly this story features an OC called Special Agent Jack O'Connor who is from the NSA. He'll feature quite heavily in this story but only because he needs to be. It never made sense to me that the NSA would just ignore what was happening, especially if there was any doubt in their mind over why Roland Lowry was kidnapped in the first place and that's where Jack sprung from. I had always assumed it was because the case would be solved before they could get someone on the island which triggered the thought 'well what would have happened if there had been a NSA agent on the island at the time of the kidnapping? The agency would hardly ignore it if there was someone there already with clearance who could help.' The next thing I knew everything had fitted into place. Personally I like the character of Jack so I'm hoping against hope that you all like him as well and give him a chance like you gave Danni a chance. I'd like to state here though to the McDanni fans out there that I have no intention of Jack being romantically involved with Danni-girl so you can all breathe a sigh of relief now lol**

**There's nothing really more to say other than I hope you enjoy the chapter. I plan to update chapter three next Sunday, mainly because Sunday is my day to work on the Danni saga!**

**Anyway enjoy the chapter guys **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**"So that right there was you being nice to someone?"**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Two

At the crime scene

* * *

**27****th**** September 2010**

**Ala Moana Boulevard**

**Waikiki**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Steve looked around him, eyes narrowed slightly as his mind began slotting pieces of the puzzle together in his mind.

There was no doubt about it that this had been completely deliberate. Lowry had been taken for a purpose, no doubt over something which he knew or which he had the skills to deal with. Lowry had been part of the NSA which meant that he had classified knowledge in his head, classified knowledge which would still be dangerous if it ever fell into the wrong hands. The question was what knowledge was it specifically that the kidnappers wanted from him?

He reached up and ran a hand through his short dark hair before his eyes found Danni. She was talking to the young CSU agent Steve had spoken to earlier, a smile on her face as she listened to whatever it was he was saying to her. She was wearing a bright blue dress covered with pink flowers and a pair of black low high heels, meaning that she was working under the assumption that she wouldn't be involved in a gun fight that day, the thought made Steve smile as he wondered how long it would take her to realise that all of their cases would likely end up with them in a gun fight. At least her long blonde hair was out of the way in some complicated look bun.

She glanced up towards him as though she felt his gaze and shot him a questioning look, rolling her eyes when Steve lifted his hand up and waved her over to him. She nodded at him, holding up one finger before she turned back to the CSU agent, saying something to him and patting his arm before she headed to Steve.

"What have you got?" He called out to her as soon as she was in hearing range of him.

"I made a few calls and I've managed to find out a few things which might help us narrow things down." She answered him, dropping her mobile phone back into her oversized back. He noticed her blue eyes moving around them, lingering on certain places before moving on. He wondered briefly what her mind was making of the scene before she came to a stop by him, her eyes focusing on him instead.

"What did you find out from them?" He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for her to speak.

"The van as you've probably already guessed was stolen around about two days ago from the owner, a guy named Hal Watkins. He owns a van rental place nearby to where we are now. According to the police report he filed with HPD, he locked everything up for the night the same as usual and when he returned in the morning two vans were gone. One white one and one blue one" She told him.

"That makes sense" Steve said, "The white one was used to ram the car and the blue one was probably used to transport Lowry away once they had him."

"That's what I thought as well. They would have known that the ramming van would be a write off and they wouldn't have gotten far on foot. Six fifteen is early but it's not early enough that there's no people traffic or other cars around the place. Someone would have noticed something." She said.

"Did the van rental place have any security?" Steve asked. Danni nodded.

"See this is where it gets slightly interesting or slightly worrying depending on whether you're a half full, half empty type of person" She commented, a suddenly amused smile coming to her face as she looked at him. "You're a glass is nearly completely empty kind of guy I take it" She remarked causing Steve to smirk.

"I like to think I' a realist" He replied "And you with the cute dress today? What does that make you? A hopeless optimist?"

"We are not getting shot at today Steven" She said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him, the sight making him smile before he turned serious again.

"What's interesting then?"

"The owner says that he was robbed last year so he invested in a state of the art security system, the best of the best. The minutes anyone so much as touches the fence surrounding the property alarm systems go off everywhere. The whole thing is connected to HPD and the security company and yet neither of them were alerted when the vans were stolen." She told him.

"So they bypassed the system completely?" Steve said, frowning when Danni nodded at him.

"Exactly which means that one of the kidnappers has to have some skills when it comes to technology. This is not the kind of system you can disable easily, especially without someone realising what you were up to. The security firm who set it has a perfect record up to this incident. They are opened twenty four seven. They would not have missed this."

"It makes sense though" Steve said, looking towards the abandoned white van thoughtfully. "If the kidnappers are the ones who are actually behind the abduction, rather than just being muscle for hire, then it would be logical for at least one of them to know what Lowry was doing to make sure he was doing it right, otherwise Lowry could simply do something else and they would never know. We have to assume at the moment that whatever they want him for, it has something to do with his work. Something only he can do."

"The question is what though? What does he have that they want badly enough to do something like this. There are so many better, quieter ways to abduct someone, ways which wouldn't alert the authorities until it was too late for them to act. Whatever it was which was happening today was important enough for them to do it this way. Maybe they thought that if they didn't act now they'd lose whatever it was they wanted?" She suggested.

"Have a look into his past when we get back to headquarters Danni, not just the NSA stuff but the work he's been doing since he left the NSA. For all we know this has something to do with what he's been doing since then."

"I can do that" Danni said with a nod. "It shouldn't be difficult to find out what he's mean up to since moving here."

Steve nodded again, his eyes looking past her, watching as two of the medical examiners lifted one of the dead bodies onto the trolley.

"Did you find anything out about our two dead guys?" He asked her, eyes flickering towards her for a moment before he watched the same two medical examiners do the same thing with the second body. Danni followed his gaze for a moment, watching silently before she turned back to Steve and spoke.

"Our two dead guys are Julian West and Freddie Morris, both of them were hired bodyguards from a place called Bruddah's private security firm. The totalled SUV" She said, waving her hand towards the wrecked vehicle. "Is also registered to Bruddah's. No doubt Lowry rented the vehicle at the same time as he hired out two dead guys. I've spoken to the manager of the place, a guy called Brent Owens and he confirmed the booking, saying that Lowry had only hired West and Morris for the day so there must be something which is happening today which made Lowry nervous enough that he felt the need to hire trained bodyguards."

"The question is why? What did he hire them for? Did he know he was in danger or was he just being cautious?" Steve remarked, reaching up and pulling at his lower lip for a moment before he looked around him again.

"It shouldn't be difficult to find out once we get into his home and have a look around the place. If the information is going to be anywhere it will be there" She answered. "What about you though? Did you manage to find anything while I was on the phone?"

"A bit" He answered. "The bullets they used were SS-190 armour piercing rounds so clearly the kidnappers were expecting some form of resistance when they came for Lowry. These rounds are expensive which means they were probably backed by someone who has cash to burn. You can't just buy these sort of bullets in any shop which sells rounds. The owners need to have a special licence to be able to sell them on site."

"Well that makes things easier for us then. We can cross reference which gun shops here in Hawaii have a licence to sell the rounds and go and see them. My gut is telling me that this whole thing was not a local job. It was way too clean and clinical. This is more the work of a group who know exactly what they are doing because they've done it together several times in the past."

"Agreed, speak to Chin and Kono and get them to look into that side of things. I want them to request surveillance footage from any of the shops who have sold this type of round recently. Tell them to go back at least a month, we've got no idea how long they've been planning this for. A group like this should stand out so they should be easy enough to spot." Steve stated.

"Not only will they stand out in the footage but I bet that those type of rounds don't sell at a great rate either which means that when they finally do sell the shopkeepers take notice of who bought them." Danni added.

Steve moved away from her, moving back to the SUV and hunching down beside the window screen. H reached out and touched it, frowning slightly before he looked back at Danni.

"You know it's interesting what you said about the security firm owning the SUV. It makes sense" He remarked.

"What makes sense exactly?" Danni questioned, sounding curious as she moved towards where he was, hunching down beside him and following his gaze to the shattered glass. Steve turned to look at her before turning his attention back to the SUV.

"This" He said rapping his knuckles gently against the glass. "Is density-layered ballistic glass laminated onto a shield of resilient polycarbonate" He told her, glancing back at her, surprised to see her amused smile. "What so funny?" He asked.

"You" She replied simply "You know all you had to say was that the SUV had bulletproof glass, something which most civilians minus the really paranoid ones, wouldn't have but which a security firm would most definitely have. You Steven McGarrett are a show off" she teased, her smile growing, producing dimples in her cheeks before she turned serious. "The thing is how did the kidnappers know that the SUV wasn't his and that it had bullet proof glass? If these rounds are as expensive as you say they are then why waste them unless you knew that normal rounds wouldn't get the job done? That means that someone had to tip them off that Lowry had hired the SUV in the first place and that he would be taking this route at this time to get to where he was going to. The question is who that was and why?"

For a moment Steve stared at her in surprise, impressed despite himself, a feeling Steve was beginning to get used to feeling around her. He still found it amazing how Danni treated him. His Unit back in the Navy had followed each of his commands without a word of complaint, accepting that he had reasons behind the orders and that was that but Danni didn't accept his orders unless he explained his reasoning behind it to her first. It was a situation he wasn't used to being in.

"Excuse me, are you Commander McGarrett?"

Steve looked away from Danni towards the unfamiliar male voice. He squinted slightly in the bright sunlight before he came to his feet. The man in front of him looked to be a couple of years older than Steve was. He was tall, possible and inch or two taller and built as though he regularly did some training of some sort.

"Yeah I'm Commander McGarrett and you are?" He questioned.

"I'm Special Agent Jack O'Connor with the NSA. I've been told that you're the lead agent on the Roland Lowy kidnapping case?" He questioned.

Steve glanced toward Danni as she came to her feet, absently straightening her dress as she took a few steps forward so she was beside him. He raised an eyebrow when she remained silent simply looking at him with a look that told him to carry on and take the lead. Steve nodded slightly at her before he turned his attention back to the other man, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The Governor informed me on the phone earlier that the NSA had an agent here who they would send to assist us on the case. I'm assuming you're him?" Steve remarked after a brief pause, his voice coming out cool and expressionless as his eyes moved over the other man taking him in. He was dressed surprisingly casual for an NSA agent in a pair of worn dark jeans and a simple blue t-shirt. It looked as though he had just rolled out of bed, grabbed the first items of clothing he could locate and left without even bothering to do anything with his short blond hair which was stuck up on end in different directions. "Let me see your ID badge" Steve stated, the tone of his voice making it extremely clear that he wasn't asking.

If the other man was surprised by Steve's demand for his badge he didn't show it. Instead he simply shrugged his shoulders and reached into one of the pockets of his jeans, pulling out a thin well-worn leather case. Jack flipped it open with an ease that spoke of experience and held it out to Steve, an amused look on his face as Steve took it from him and scanned it carefully. It was definitely a genuine NSA ID badge. Steve nodded once satisfied before he passed it back to Jack who took it from him. Jack offered it to Danni with a questioning look but she declined it with a shake of her head. He shrugged again, slipping the badge away before he spoke.

"The answer to your question is yes, I'm the one your Governor warned you about. I was here to do a lecture at your police academy. My superior rang me this morning and filled me in a little on the basics of the case and told me to come down here and meet with you." He commented, looking around him at the scene. "I assuming the general idea at the moment is that Lowry was kidnapped due to the work he did while he was with us at the NSA?"

"That's the general idea" Steve agreed "At least for the moment. What would be helpful O'Connor is if we knew exactly what it was that Lowry was working on before he left your agency so we can either rule it out or begin to work the angle."

"That's not a problem McGarrett, I've been given clearance from the area director to discuss Lowry's work with you though not here." Jack stated firmly, waving his arm around them indicating the still busy crime scene. "The information is classified and sensitive so as you can imagine discussing it somewhere where anyone could overhear the conversation wouldn't be the brightest idea any of have had." He remarked dryly, sticking his hands into his pocket. "It might be best if I leave you here and head back you your headquarters? That will give me time to set up all my equipment so we aren't wasting precious time later on."

"What equipment exactly are you talking about?" Steve asked, feeling a frown come to his face.

"I need to hook my laptop into your main hard drive so I can access the NSA database using your systems" Jack answered.

"That seems like the best idea" Danni remarked before Steve could say anything. "There's a spare office free in our headquarters which you can use for today. If you need any help setting up the connection with the NSA mainframe then Detective Kelly will be able to help you with that. He's our resident tech expert." She told him politely, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Thanks that would be helpful…" Jack's voice trailed off as he gave Danni a questioning look. Steve shifted slightly, watching the exchange between the two closely.

"I'm Detective Danni Williams, Steve's partner and second in command of the taskforce" She told him simply. "If you need any further help then please feel free to ask any of us Special Agent O'Connor"

"Thanks Williams and please call me Jack or O'Connor. Adding the Special Agent part to it just makes it a mouthful" He told them with a rueful smile before he turned serious again. "Have you got the address for your headquarters? The quicker I get started the better it is for Lowry."

"Yeah, we're situated on the third floor of the Aliiolani Hale Building. You can type it into your GPS system in your car and it should take you there with no problems" Steve told Jack who merely nodded at him.

"Got it" Jack replied.

"I think Detective Kelly is heading back there now from the look of it." Danni said suddenly before the NSA could move away from them. Steve turned to her watching as she waved Chin over to where they were. She glanced briefly at Steve, an amused look in her blue eyes before she turned her attention back to Jack. "He can help you set up your equipment and escort you around the building. Unless you have a badge you can't get in at present time" She stated before looking at Chin as the older man came to a stop by them. "Morning Chin" She said warmly. "This is Special Agent Jack O'Connor from the NSA. He's been instructed to help up with the Lowry case. Do you mind taking him back to the headquarters and helping him set up his link to the NSA database?" She asked him.

Chin looked at the pair of them for a moment, hundreds of questions in his dark eyes before hey flickered to Jack, clearly weighing him up just as Steve had done before he nodded.

"That's not a problem Danni and morning to you to." He answered her with a smile before he focused his attention back on Steve. "I've contacted the traffic centre and they are emailing me the footage from the surrounding street cameras. That one over there was facing the way of the incident so it should definitely have some footage which we can use to piece together exactly how the kidnapping went down this morning."

"Good work Chin, keep us informed of anything you find which might be useful" Steve remarked with a nod at the native.

"You got it Steve" Chin replied before turning his attention back to Jack who was waiting patiently for them to finish, pale blue eyes focused on them all though Steve could read the expression in his eyes. "Follow me O'Connor" He said.

"Right behind you Kelly" Jack responded, nodding at Steve and Danni before he turned from them and followed Chin towards where all the car were park beyond the yellow tape. Steve watched them go for a moment before he turned to Danni, raising an eyebrow at her when she suddenly spoke.

"So that right there was you being nice to someone?" She asked him, an undercurrent of disbelief mingled with amusement to her voice as she placed her hands on her hips and shook her head at him.

"What are you talking about? I was perfectly polite to the guy Danni" Steve responded, hiding a smile of amusement when she gave an unladylike snort in response. He was saved from hearing what she had to say to him when Kono suddenly appeared from behind the van.

"Guys," She called to them, coming to a stop by the. "I found Lowry's phone jammed under the front seat of the SUV, according to his log, the last call he made was at six thirteen this morning and it lasted for four minutes."

"Four minutes" Danni repeated, tapping her finger against her lower lip thoughtfully. "Didn't you say Steve that the kidnapping occurred at six fifteen this morning? Lowry would have been on the phone at the time of his abduction."

"That's what the Governor said when she rang me with the case this morning." Steve agreed "Who was Lowry speaking to at the time Kono?" He asked the Rookie turning to look at her. Kono glanced back at the cracked scene before she looked up, her dark eyes moving between them both.

"His son Evan"

Steve nodded slowly at the information turning to look at Danni.

"It looks like we've found ourselves a witness" He commented. Danni nodded glancing at him.

"Or a traumatised boy who probably saw his own father abducted in front of his own eyes" she responded before she turned her attention to Kono. "Good job Kono, did you find anything else in the SUV? Lowry's briefcase or anything else he might have been using to carry documents in?"

"Nothing else" Kono answered "If he had anything on him when he was kidnapped then the kidnappers made sure they took it with them when they grabbed him. The phone must have been overlooked by them or they would probably have taken it as well."

"We need to find out exactly where Lowry was heading this morning and why" Steve said.

"I'm already one step ahead of you on one of those questions Steve. The Bruddah's owner is just loading up his computer systems and then he's calling me back with the locations of where Lowry was heading today. It's their policy to take notes on everything like this so they know exactly where their men are at any one time. The minute I know is the minute you'll all know" Danni assured him, Steve smiled at her before he turned back to Kono, his face turning serious again.

"Kono I want you to head back to headquarters and see what you can find out from Lowry's phone. There's a chance that he might have used the calendar on it or received text messages or calls in regards to this. I want you to see if Lowry has any other relatives on the island other than his son. Maybe he has a wife or a girlfriend somewhere nearby. If you find them then contact them and explain the situation and get them down to headquarters. Lowry's son is going to need someone who is familiar to him. You drove in with Chin this morning didn't you?" He asked her, suddenly changing the subject. Kono blinked at him obviously surprised before she answered.

"Yeah he picked me up from my house when you sent the text out."

"Chin's already heading back to headquarters so take my truck instead" He told her, fishing the keys out of his pockets and throwing them to Kono who caught them. "Me and Danni will finish off here and then we'll go and collect Lowry's son and bring him in for a talk. There's a chance that he might know what his father was working on or why he was taken.

"I got it Boss" Kono responded with a nod. "I'll contact you both if I find anything" She said with a smile before she moved away from him. Steve breathed out turning to Danni.

"You ready?" He asked her. Danni glanced around her before she focused her attention on him and nodded.

"I'm ready" She assured him.

"In that case, let's go."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read the story, it's much appreciated.**

**An especially massive thank you if you have review or followed or made the story a favourite. It means the world to me!**


	3. Shut up and drive

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Governor Jameson and Roland Lowry do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Agent Kale Mead, Carl Wallace, Zevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**So here's chapter three of 'Family'.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this series and especially writing the relationship between Steve and Danni and seeing it evolving slowly but surely. This saga is definitely what I refer to as a cold burn saga which means that the main romance will probably take a while to develop. There will be plenty of flirting and little touches and things like that but if you're looking for a quick romance, as in one where they've known each other for two seconds and already love each other, than you won't find that here. Not with 'The Danni saga' it might take a while but I can't help but feel that it will seriously be worth it in the end.**

**There's not much to say really that hasn't already been said before. This story will be shorter than story one mainly because the events will be done over a single day and the chapters are shorter. If I had to do a rough guess then I would say that this story will probably have about 15 chapters but I could be wrong, it might have more, it might have less. I never know until I'm actually near the end when suddenly it just clicks.**

**This chapter is sort of a missing scene chapter. A missing scene chapter is one which explains what happens in-between shots on screen in the episodes. So in the episode we go from the crime scene straight to Steve and Danny talking to Evan but that's it, it doesn't explain anything and I always find myself frustrated by that. Perhaps because I'm all about the details so this chapter explains what happens in-between those scenes.**

**A few reviewers have asked what Danni looks like, if you look at my profile picture or the picture used for 'the Beginning' then you'll see her. That is who Danni is based on. I have actors chosen for all the own characters so if you do want to know who they are based on then please let me know via review or message and I'll tell you.**

**I think that's enough from me so please enjoy this chapter!**

**Thanks **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve and Danni finish up at the crime scene and go and pick up Evan.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Three

Shut up and drive

* * *

**27****th**** September 2010**

**Ala Moana Boulevard**

**Waikiki**

**Hawaii**

* * *

"Okay then" Danni remarked casually with a quick look around them before her gaze focused on him. She nodding at him, a faint smile on her face as she picked up her bag from the floor and placed it over her shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

Steve nodded at her, taking a few steps towards the yellow tape surrounding the crime scene before he suddenly stopped, twisting around on the spot, his eyes moving over the crowd of CSU agents trying to locate the one who he had spoken to when he had first arrived at the crime scene. He frowned slightly when he couldn't see him straight away.

"Are you looking for someone?" Danni asked him curiously as she came to a stop next to him. He could feel her looking at him but didn't look back.

"I'm looking for the CSU agent who was working on the van when we first got to the crime scene" He responded, his face clearing slightly when he finally spotted him. The man was hunched down next to the SUV almost climbing into it, which explained why Steve had missed him the first time round. He watched for a moment, eyebrow rising when he saw the man's mouth moving though whether he was talking to himself or talking to the small native woman nearby was harder to tell. "Hey" He called out loudly, attracting several people's attention to him, including the one he wanted. He nodded at him, lifting his hand and waved him over to him.

The man frowned slightly, climbing to his feet and said something to the woman before he headed over to where Steve and Danni were standing, brushing his hands against the material of his jumpsuit as though he was trying to clean them.

"You have no idea what his name is do you?" Danni asked from beside him attracting his attention. She tilted her head back and shook it at him. "Don't you think Steve that maybe, just maybe, you should actually take the time to learn what each of them are called if we're going to be working closely with them? They'll be more likely to do us favours if you do" She stated, her tone light though Steve was sure he could detect a slight disapproving look in her eyes.

"Do you know all their names?" He retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. Danni smiled.

"I know the name of all the uniformed officers as well as the CSU ones" She replied simply before she turned to the man as he came to a stop by them. "Hey Kale" She said with a smile at him. "How are things? You all good? Sorry I didn't return your call last week but you know how it is, people won't stop dying."

"I hear that Danni girl, I'm good though, I certainly can't complain and you? Enjoying your new position as one of the chosen Elite?" He asked her with a wide grin which she returned. Steve shifted on the spot slightly, his gaze fixed on Danni before he looked towards the man, surprised to find him looking at him. He spoke when his eyes met Steve's. "You called Commander?" He said dryly.

"I did" Steve responded. "I'm finished with both the van and the SUV so feel free to bring them back to your base now so you can take them apart like you wanted. I'd like copies of the crime scene photos as soon as possible please."

"Will do Commander, you should get the photos within the hour, we just need to get them back to the lab and downloaded onto the system, once that's done we can email you copies. I'm assuming you're on the internal systems by now" He queried, his eyebrow quirking slightly as though he found what Steve said amusing.

"We are" Danni replied with a nod. "They finally got us set up two days ago." The man, who Steve assumed was called Kale, nodded, turning his attention away from Steve to Danni.

"I'll let Ry know. He's got all the reports for the Doran and Sang Min cases ready to give you but I know he wanted to go through a few points with you before you submitted them to the DA."

"Oh cool yeah, tell him to call me or to email me, whichever is easiest" Danni replied. Steve shot her a quick look at the mentioned of Ryan Moore, the head of CSU but she didn't look towards him. Steve frowned slightly, looking back to Kale as the other man moved on the spot, waving over a small group of people who were dressed in the same jackets as him.

"Guys, we're good to go on the vehicles. So let's get them transported back to headquarters. Walker, Alexis. I want you to stay here and supervise the secondary team and make sure we gather all the evidence we can for the Governor's new team. Get it back to base as soon as you can and speak to the boss man and see whether he can pull some strings and get the results fast tracked. There's a man's life at risk after all… though that's nothing new" He said, ending with a rueful smile.

"We're on it Kale" One of the men responded, before the team dispersed, all of them clearly knowing exactly what they needed to do. Kale turned back to them and nodded once.

"We've got everything covered down here Commander. As soon as we find anything out, we'll contact Danni-girl on her mobile and let you know." He assured them, something in his voice telling Steve that the other man was done with the conversation and wanted to get on.

"Thanks for that" Steve responded with a nod at him, taking a step towards where the cars were parked before he stopped realising that Danni wasn't following him. He looked back over his shoulder when he heard her speaking.

"You know I had been planning on calling you and finding out how everything was going with your new promotion but I think I might have just gotten my answer" She commented with an amused tone to her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm guessing that being one of the senior field agents is something that you're liking?"

"Who wouldn't like it Dan?" Kale responded with a wide grin as he mirrored her pose. "I mean the job is interesting, my team is awesome and the extra money I get now isn't exactly a kick in the teeth. The fact that I'm in Hawaii, the weather is good and I get to swim every day is just an added bonus. Certainly beats Philly hands down."

"Danni, we've got to go" Steve called out, interrupting her before she could say anything else. Experience had already taught him that when she got into a conversation, she tended to remain in that conversation for a while. She glanced at him, brushing some stray hair away from her eyes before she gave him a single nod of acknowledgement looking back towards Kale.

"Duty calls" She said, "But we'll catch up later though, maybe go for a drink or something?" She suggested.

"Yeah I'm up for that, check you later Danni-girl, and stay safe" He told her before he turned back to his crime scene and his team clearly dismissing them from his mind.

"Sorry about that, let's go" She said to him, touching his back briefly before she moved past him to the car park leaving Steve to follow her. "I'm parked over here" She told him, weaving in and out of the working agents, nodding and saying hello to most of them though Steve was relieved that she didn't stop to talk. He nodded at the Officer who held up the yellow tape for them to slip beneath before he looked around him, spotting the silver Camaro from where he was standing. He changed course, heading towards it, rolling his eyes when he saw Danni move to the driver's side and unlock the car. Flashing him a knowing smile over the roof, Danni opened the door and disappeared from view.

Steve sighed, looking around him one last time with a searching look before he climbed into the car, pulling on his seatbelt before he focused his attention on Danni, giving her a long look.

"Don't give me that look" She told him sternly when she caught sight of it. "We've been driving together for what three days now and I have told you time and time again that you aren't driving my car yet." Steve huffed, leaning back in his chair as she turned the key in the ignition, twisting in her seat so she could look behind her before she reversed out of the space she had parked into. As much as Steve hated to admit it, his partner actually wasn't that bad of a driver. The only problem was the simple fact that she seemed to be allergic to the acceleration peddle.

Steve turned his mind away from Danni's driving skills and instead searched through his pocket, locating his phone and pulled it out, pressing down on the number two button. He brought it to his ear and waited for the call to be picked up. It rang four times before Steve heard the click of the call being connected followed by a familiar voice.

"Kelly"

"Chin, its Steve. Are you back at headquarters now?" He asked, glancing at Danni from the corner of his eye when she leaned forward in her seat and switched the music in the car down.

"Yeah I got here about five minutes ago Steve" Chin told him, attracting Steve's attention back to him. "Jack has brought his equipment up from his car and he's in the process of uploading his profile into our mainframe so he can access it. Once he's done that then he'll be able to connect to the NSA database using our system."

"Do we have an ETA on how long that will take?" Steve asked.

"I doubt it will take long but let me check" Chin replied, his voice becoming muffled. Steve waited. "Jack says it will take about ten to fifteen minutes and then a further five minutes or so to get to the part of the mainframe which he'll need."

"And when it's up and running we'll have access to the work which Lowry did while he was with the NSA?" Steve questioned, he could almost picture Chin nodding in his head as the other man answered him.

"Should be, as long as Jack has high enough security clearance to access the data. If Lowry was working on something which is above that clearance rating then we might be in a bit of trouble but Jack seems to think it will be alright. So we'll just have to trust that he knows what he's talking about. He can always just call his superior who sent him here to gain access if need be."

"Good work Chin" Steve said, "That's not the reason why I'm calling though, we need you to send us Lowry's home address. Danni and I are going to head over there now to pick up his son. Kono found Lowry's mobile in the SUV and it turns out that the kid was on the phone with his dad when everything went down this morning. He probably heard and saw everything. It wouldn't surprise me if the 911 call was from him as well."

"Poor kid" Chin said sympathetically before his tone turned brisk again. "Just give me a second to log onto the HPD database and I'll let you know exactly where he lives" He commented

"You got it" Steve answered, glancing towards his partner when she suddenly hit the indicator and pulled to the side of the road, turning the engine off and leaning back in her seat. He caught her eyes, raising his eyebrow at her.

"There's no point in us driving around, wasting petrol for the sake of it until we actually where we need to go Steve" She told him. Steve nodded looking away, a slight smile coming to his face. He knew she still had some doubts over whether the pair of them would be good as partners but Steve knew they would be, he had a feeling about it and he had learnt never to ignore that feeling when it occurred. The fact she could read his expression without him talking to know what he wanted pointed to that fact.

"Okay Steve, Lowry lives with his son at 151 Dorian Avenue in Kahala" Chin told him.

"Got it" Steve said, "Kono is on her way back to headquarters with Lowry's phone. I want to know everything that we get from the phone as soon as we get it okay? I'll text you when we're on our way back with the kid. See you Chin" Steve hung up the phone and looked at Danni who was watching him with a patient look on her face. "Lowry lives at 151 Dorian Avenue, it's in Kahala" He told her noticing the look of confusion which came to her eyes. "You know where that is Danni?" He asked, watching as she remained still for a moment, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly before she let out a frustrated sigh.

"No, not exactly" She admitted unwillingly.

"I know where it is" Steve replied casually. Danni glanced at him for a moment searching his eyes as he continued "I could have us there within ten minutes, time is of the essence here Danni" He pressed, hiding his triumphant smile with difficulty when she looked away from him with a huff, reaching down and undoing her seatbelt.

"Fine" She said "You can drive the car this once but it's only because I don't know where Lowry lives and we're running out of time to find him. I'll be driving on Monday again, understood Steven?" She stated firmly.

"Understood Danielle" He replied, taking off his own seatbelt and flinging the passenger door open, unable to keep the smirk off his face as he climbed onto the pavement and moved around the front of the car, passing Danni who rolled her eyes at him when she caught sight of his face. Steve climbed into the driver's side, quickly adjusting the seat so it was comfortable and looked around him. He could definitely get used to driving her car. "Don't worry Danni" He told her as he hit the indicator and pulled out into the fast moving traffic, smiling when he felt how well the car reacted to the slightest of movements. "I'll take good care of your baby. It's safe with me"

"If you so much as scratch him Steven then I swear to God that it will be one of the last things you ever do on this planet" She promised him with a shake of her head, turning her attention to her phone when it beeped indicating she had a message. Steve glanced towards her.

"Is it personal or work related?" He asked her.

"Work related" She replied distractedly, her thumbs flying over the keyboard as she wrote out a response to it. "That was Kono" She told him. "She's just arrived back at headquarters and she's going through the call log to find out who the numbers belong to, apparently he hasn't made contacts for any of them apart from Evan so clearly he has a good memory. They are going to use the HPD database to try and find out who the phone numbers belong to and then they'll use that information in the NSA mainframe to see if any of the people contacting him flag up as trouble."

"Good" Steve said, "We're about five minutes away from Lowry's house now" He told her, glancing towards her in time to catch her nod.

"You know it wouldn't surprise me if his house is built up like a fortress" Danni commented. "I mean the guy worked for years with the NSA and probably kept in touch with the people he used to work with even after he left. He probably has all the best state of art security equipment around on the market. It could be why the Kidnappers chose to do it the way they did. They probably scoped out his house, realised it would be impossible to do without alerting people and decided instead to get him when he was out and about."

"Why waste their time and their resources" Steve agreed. "Lowry is probably a man who likes to be in control of everything and control is the one thing you can't have when you're out and about on the streets or in a car. There's too many variables to be able to plan for."

"I think we should take Evan back to the headquarters to interview him rather than do it at his house" Danni remarked.

"Why?" Steve questioned curiously.

"Somehow the kidnappers knew where Lowry would be which means one of three things" She told him, using her fingers to count them off. "One, Lowry told them himself without realising who he was telling, or two someone told them for him which sort of links into number one. Or three, his house was somehow bugged and he didn't realise it. I know number three is unlikely but it's better safe than sorry especially when a kid is involved. Evan is a target whether he realises it or not. If his father doesn't do whatever it is they want him to do then they'll come for him next. Trust me, there is nothing a parent wouldn't do to keep their child safe." She told him seriously meeting his eyes "And I mean nothing Steve"

Steve breathed out noisily and nodded.

"I had the same thoughts" He admitted "The kid will be safer with us until we sort this mess out." He told her, pulling into a long driveway and parking up outside a large closed gate. Steve peered out of the window screen at it, taking in the two uniformed police officers "We'll come back here after we've finished at headquarters, our first priority right now is the kid and to find out what he knows" He told Danni.

"Poor kid" She said sadly "Only God knows what he must be going through right now." She said before she straightened her shoulders and opened the door, climbing out. Steve followed suite, locking the car behind him before he walked to the two officers, both of whom stood to attention at his approach, hands dropping to their gun belts in a clear silent warning.

"McGarrett with the Governor task force" He said to them, stopping in front of them and showing them his badge. "Has anyone other than us been here?" He demanded, taking his badge back. The older of the two Officers took Danni's badge and checked it before he answered.

"No one yet Commander though we have spotted a black car with tinted windows drive by the end of the road about three maybe four times now. We haven't been able to catch sight of the license plate due to the angle of it"

Steve glanced at Danni who shot him a concerned look at the news.

"We're taking the boy back to our headquarters" He told them.

"Fair enough, go in, the main door is unlocked as is the gate" The man said again, nodding towards the gate.

"Thanks Carl" Danni said to the man before she headed to the gate. Steve followed her.

"You know their names as well?" He asked as he pushed the gate closed behind them, his gaze roaming over the large house in front of them.

"Yeah that's Carl and Zevan" She told him. "Lowry certainly wasn't strapped for money was he?" Danni commented with a small smile, touching Steve's arm before she moved past him and headed up the garden path towards the front door. Steve looked around him for a moment before he headed after her, reaching the door at the same time as her. He shot her a questioning look, smiling when she nodded before he reached up and knocked on the door.

There was a moment's delay and then the sound of footsteps approaching the door which was opened revealing an older looking woman. She looked pale and worn out, her dark eyes redden and swollen as though she had been crying while her grey streaked dark hair was tied messily back in a bun. She was average height and plump.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She asked them, a shaky quality to her voice as though she was barely keeping things together.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander McGarrett and this is my partner Detective Williams" He announced, holding up his badge again so she could see them. "We're with the Governor's taskforce and we're dealing with Roland Lowry's kidnapping. We need to speak to his son Evan" He told her. The woman look between them again, her eyes focusing on their faces rather than the badges. Steve saw her swallow hard before she gave them one jerky nod.

"Of course" She said "Please both of you come in" She stood back, allowing them into the hallway, closing the door behind them and turned to them. "I'll go and get him, he's in his bedroom. He's been in there since… since…" Her voice trailed off, she glanced away from them for a moment before she headed up the stairs. Steve watched her go before he turned to Danni and spoke softly to her.

"Find out who she is and then run a background check on the woman, I want to know everything about her. This could be an inside job as you said and she could easily be our inside mole."

"On it" Danni responded.

Steve looked around him taking in the hallway. It looked normal but Steve highly doubted that it was, there were no doubt security cameras were everywhere watching their every move. He glanced towards the staircase again when the woman appeared again this time accompanied by a young boy who looked to be between the ages of twelve and fourteen. He was fairly tall for his age and skinny with a mop of straight brown hair and dark blue eyes. He looked shell shocked as he came down the stairs, gripping the bannister tightly in his hand before he stopped in front of them, looking at them both with eyes which looked unseeing.

"This is Mr Lowry's son Evan" The woman told them, wrapping her arm around the boy's shoulder clearly trying to comfort him.

"Hello Evan" Danni said, a gentle tone to her voice which Steve had only heard a few times when Danni had been on the phone to her daughter while they had been in the car. "My name is Danni Williams. I'm a Detective with the Governor's taskforce. This is my partner Steve McGarrett" She introduced, waving a hand towards Steve.

The boy looked at them, remaining silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Are you here to find my Dad?" He demanded, an undercurrent of desperation to his voice.

"Yes we are" She answered him simply, keeping her gaze fixed on him. "We understand that you were speaking to your father on the phone when he was taken this morning so what we're going to do Evan is take you with us back to our headquarters and speak to you there. We just want to see what you can remember about what happened."

"I don't remember much about it, it's like a blur" Evan admitted lowly, his shoulders hunching up in a defensive pose.

"That's fine Evan" Danni told him with a warm smile. "It's completely natural for that to happen when you've been through something traumatic like you have. I've been there myself where everything about an event takes on a dream like quality and you just can't figure out exactly what is real and what's not real, right?"

"Right?" Evan said eagerly.

"You remember a lot more than you think okay? So we'll head back now and we'll just ask you some questions, if you can answer them then that's brilliant and if you can't then that's okay as well" She told him, Evan nodded at her "Oh and Evan?" She said waiting until she had his full attention "I promise you that Steve and I will do everything in our power to bring your father home safely to you okay?"

Steve watched Evan search Danni's face, giving the boy a reassuring smile when his eyes flickered to him before Evan nodded, breathing out deeply as he stood up straighter, and squaring his shoulders as though he was bracing himself for a blow.

"Okay then" He said, turning his head and looking to the woman who still had her arm wrapped around his shoulder. "Can Cacie come as well?" He asked hopefully.

"Cacie?" Steve questioned, looking towards the woman who nodded at them.

"I'm Cacie or rather I'm Acacia Donoghue. I'm employed by Mr Lowry as his housekeeper" She told them, licking her lips nervously.

"That's fine" Danni said looking at Steve briefly before she turned her attention back to Evan who was looking relieved. "Our car is just outside the main gate Evan, the sooner we can get back to headquarters the better it will be."

"Okay, lead the way" He told them.

Steve turned and opened up the front door for them, heading out first, eyes scanning the area for anything which might have seemed suspicious or out of place. As far as he could see though everything was the same as it had been five minutes earlier when they arrived. They made their way down the path, Steve in front, Danni bringing up the rear with Evan and Acacia in the middle. Steve ushered them out of the gate, glad to see the two officers standing to attention, guns in hands, ready for action if the need arose. Steve unlocked the car.

"Danni" He called out to his partner.

"On it" She called back, leading Evan and Acacia to the car and opening up the back seat, flashing them a reassuring smile as they climbed in. Steve turned back to the two officers

"We'll be back soon to look over this place. Keep it locked down. I don't want anyone going in or anyone coming out even if they have a badge. The only people allowed in this house are the people with a taskforce badges okay?" He asked, looking at them both.

"Understood loud and clear Commander, no one in or out. We've got two more men stationed round the back entrance so we'll let them know as well."

"Good" Steve said "Thanks Carl, Zevan" He remarked catching the look of surprise on their face as he turned and headed to the car, climbing in the driving seat before Danni could take the seat. He pulled on his seatbelt looking at Danni as she climbed in the passenger seat, shooting him an unimpressed look.

"Hey, if you know the way to headquarters from here Danni then be my guest" He murmured to her, holding out the car key for her to take. He watched her eyes narrow slightly at his comment, before her gaze dropped to the keys. She looked away with an annoyed sound and put her seatbelt on.

"Shut up and drive" She told him.

"Isn't that the title of a song?" He couldn't resist asking, smirking as he put the key into the ignition and tuned it. "Keep an eye out for the black car with tinted windows. The older police officer mentioned seeing on past the main entrance to the street three or four times since they got there."

"Will do" Danni said.

"And vans, we don't want a repeat of what happened this morning"

"That right there my friend might be the understatement of the year so far" She commented, moving in her seat so she could see clearly out of the side mirror. Steve glanced round quickly making sure that Evan and Acacia had their seatbelts on before he started the car and pressed down on the pedal.

They had been driving in silence for around about five minutes when Danni's phone suddenly went off attracting Steve's attention from his thoughts. He watched as she fished it out of her bag and answered it, not bothering to check the ID screen.

"Williams"

Steve waited for Danni to speak but she remained silent for a moment, clearly listening to whoever it was who rang her. "Yeah? And you're sure about that?" She asked. "Is it good enough to get a hit or is it only a possibility?" She questioned. "Okay, good work Buddy, I'll let Steve know. Bye." She stated before she hung up the phone, throwing it back into her bag.

"Let Steve know what?" He asked her quietly. Danni glanced at him, shaking her head slightly at him.

"I'll tell you later" She murmured back, turning her attention back to watching the roads carefully. Within minutes Steve was parking the Camaro in the parking space which Danni had claimed as her own on their second day and both of them were climbing out.

"Come this way" Danni said, opening the back door for Acacia and Evan and leading the pair of them towards the building entrance. "We just need to get security passes for you both and then we'll take you upstairs," She said to them.

Steve closed the driver's door, looking towards the road with a frown when he saw a back car with tinted window slow down outside the parking entrance before it quickened again. There had been no licence plate.

Steve turned to Danni, breathing a silent sigh of relief when he saw her disappear with their two charges into the building.

Somehow he was getting the feeling that Danni's hunch had been right and Lowry's son was now a target.

Something which meant bad news for them.

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read!**

**An especially big thank you if you have left a review or made this story a favourite or decided to follow it. It means the world to me and makes all the effort worthwhile!**


	4. Is there anything you can tell us?

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry and Natalie Reed do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Up to chapter four already.**

**I know I said I was going to update this over the weekend but I've just gone on holiday for a week so I decided to celebrate by getting this chapter up now rather than waiting. I've had it written since last Saturday so it makes sense. I'm hoping but not promising to update this every two days now until I'm back at work. I've a lot of ground to make up after all **

**I know I said it before and I'll no doubt say it again but I love writing Steve and Danni together, not even in the romantic sense but writing them as a partnership. The way they bounce off of each other and the way their minds seem to connect effortlessly when they are working a case. They just get each other and I like it. I like the fact that they are work partners.**

**I know a lot of you are keen to see Steve and Grace meet. I can't tell you when it happens because I don't know exactly but I can promise you that it will be sooner rather than later, if not in this story then definitely in the next one.**

**Anyway enjoy the chapter and if you leave me a review then thank you so much. I can't put into words how much it means to me when someone takes the time to review the story. It makes all the effort and time I put into every chapter worth it!**

**So thanks!**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve and Danni conduct their interview with Evan Lowry.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Four

Is there anything you can tell us?

* * *

**27th September 2010**

**The Car Park**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Steve moved across the car park and up the stairs, flinging open the door to the building and looked around him cautiously, his eyes lingering on every corner. There was no one in reception other than the people he had expected to see in there. Evan and Acacia were talking to the two security officers behind the reception desk while Danni stood away from them slightly, watching them carefully.

Steve moved towards her, stopping by her side and spoke quietly.

"I just saw the black car which the two officers at the house were talking about. It went past the car park entrance when you were leading Evan and the housekeeper into the building. My guess is that they were staking Lowry's house out from a distance and started following us when they saw us put them in the car." He told her. Danni nodded glancing up at him, a look of concern in her eyes.

"I see" She said, turning her attention away from him to look at the desk. Steve watched as her worried look disappeared into a reassuring smile when Evan looked up from the form he was completing to look at them both. She waited patiently until he looked away before she turned her attention back to Steve. "Are you positive it's the same car as they described? It couldn't just be a fluke?"

"It was black with tinted windows and it slowed down outside the entrance as though it was scoping the place out, it wouldn't surprise me if they parked nearby" He watched Danni breathe out, her mind obviously jumping to the same conclusions that his mind had. She glanced back towards Evan for a second before focusing back on him.

"The question now is which one are they after? Is it Evan or is it Acacia or is it the both of them?" She remarked to him, crossing her arms over her chest, she remained quiet for a moment, her mind clearly going over everything before she spoke again. "Did you manage to see the licence plate on the car? We might be able to trace it if you did."

"I wasn't at the right angle to see it and by the time I moved they had sped off." He admitted. "I do know that it was a Lincoln make of car though"

"That will help" She said brightening up slightly. "There won't be many of them on the island. We could easily find out how many people own one and how many of them are black in colour."

"We could" Steve said, "We could also use the surveillance equipment in the buildings opposite. They were at the perfect angle to see the licence plate of the car."

"Chances are it's been stolen like the vans were, but a Lincoln is a fairly expensive make of car, we might get lucky and find out that the owner has cameras at their house as part of their security system. I know that Duncan has some so it's not uncommon" She said. Steve glanced towards her quickly at the mention of her ex-husband but she didn't expand the comment further. "At least we know that they are under surveillance now. If he does leave here then we'll have to make sure that one of us goes with him for extra protection, maybe post some uniforms outside as well."

"We'll send Kono with him." Steve answered instantly. "She can stay with the kid. She's a hell of a fighter so she'll be able to deal with anything which might happen." Danni nodded, tilting her head to the side and fixed him with a look which seemed almost puzzled, though she remained silent, looking away from him. "Hey, what was that look for?" He asked her, lightly grabbing her elbow in his hand. "Do you think I should send someone other than Kono?" He questioned. Danni frowned slightly before she shrugged at him, opening her mouth to speak when one of the Security guards raised his voice slightly.

"Detective Williams? I just need your signature on the bottom of these forms and then you're good to go. You can take these two anywhere within the building as long as you make sure they are accompanied at all times by a member of your taskforce."

Steve reluctantly let go of Danni's arm, watching as she moved away from him heading over to the desk. She smiled at Evan and Acacia before turning her attention to the guard, taking the pen he was offering her and signing the papers.

He looked away from the scene, focusing his attention on the doorway with a slight frown. Evan wouldn't be able to return to his house, not when it was now considered a crime scene which meant that Steve would have to try and figure out where else they could keep him. Their headquarters was out of the question. The kid had been through enough for one day, watching his father being abducted, without having to sit and watch a bunch of strangers delving into every aspect of his father's life, uncovering secrets which were secrets for a reason. He would speak to Danni and see whether she had any ideas. Perhaps HPD had a safe house which they could use for the time being while this case was ongoing. He would have to speak to the Governor and see about establishing a safe house of their own, one which only the four of them would know about when situation like this arose.

"Steve?"

Steve blinked, looking away from the door and focused his attention on the small group nearby, his eyes flickering between Acacia and Evan noticing the passes which were now around their necks before he focused on Danni who was watching him with a questioning look

"Yeah I'm ready" He called back, heading towards her. "Take them to the lifts Danni and wait for me there. I'll be with you in a moment" He told her. She looked briefly confused by his instructions before she shrugged, for once not arguing the point with him. Instead she turned from him to Acacia and Evan and smiled.

"Follow me" She told them, leading them through the barrier towards the lobby lifts. Steve watched them for a second before he moved to the security desks and spoke to the guards.

"I want you to keep an eye out for a black Lincoln make car with tinted front and back windows. If you see it in the cameras or it enters the premises and parks up then I want you to call up straight away ok?" He stated, looking at them both and waiting until they nodded their agreement at him. He nodded at them, glancing over his shoulder at door before he headed over to where Danni was waiting. She glanced towards him, leaning forward and pressed the call button. A moment later the lift doors slid open and they all stepped in, keeping silent as they travelled up to the third floor.

"It's this way" Danni said quietly to their two guest, leading the way out of the lift and down the corridor into the headquarters, Steve brought up the rear looking around him as he stepped into the large room, thankful that the place actually looked like an up and running headquarters for a taskforce. All the boxes were gone and the outstanding equipment had finally all been delivered.

"Danni?" He said quietly, waiting until she looked towards him before he looked at Evan and Acacia, making a quick separating motion with his hands. Danni gave him a single nod and a slight smile to show that she understood what he meant, before she turned back to Evan and Acacia, both of whom were looking around them with wide eyes, taking everything in.

"Come with me and I'll show you where to seat" Danni remarked, leading them away from the main area of the room. Steve watched Danni place Evan at the table nearest the kitchen with a comforting smile at him and a brief touch on his shoulder as she said something to him before she led Acacia into one of their spare offices, ignoring the bewildered look the older woman shot her. Steve waited until Danni had closed the door before he waved her back over to him, heading over to the main computer table in the centre of the room where Chin and Jack were standing.

He came to a stop next to Chin, watching as Danni moved around the table so she was standing next to Jack, opposite to Steve before he spoke.

"What have you got for us?" He asked them, looking between them.

"Nothing yet" Chin answered. "The surveillance footage from the street should be with us any moment now. We're going to use the NSA database facial recognition software on the footage to see if any of people in it flag up.

"Do you think they'll flag up?" Steve said with a raised eyebrow.

"They should do" Jack responded for Chin, looking away from his laptop and focusing his attention on them. "After 9/11, the software was updated. If you have a record, even if it's for something as mundane as a speeding ticket then you're on the system. A group like the ones who took Lowry are bound to have a record, in which case they will flag up."

"What if they aren't American?" Danni asked.

"Doesn't matter" Jack told her, turning his attention to her. "This network is linked to other networks across the world including Interpol. If they have a record anywhere and I mean anywhere, then we know about it."

"Okay run the footage against it as soon as it comes in, we might get lucky and one of them showed their faces" Steve said, crossing his arm over his chest, glancing towards the computer screen for a moment before he looked towards Chin. "Where's Kono? What is she doing?"

"She found someone on Lowry's phone" Chin told him. "A wife or a girlfriend. She said that you had asked her to find them and bring them here so she's gone to meet them. She has her mobile on her if you need to contact her."

"There's no need" Steve said, turning to Jack who had turned his attention back to whatever it was he was working on. "Could you have all the information on Lowry's cases ready for when we returned? Danni and I are just going to speak to the son and see what he can tell us." He stated. He watched both Chin and Jack look down towards the end of the room where Evan was sitting, body slumped down in his chair as he stared blankly at his hands. Steve swallowed, he could well imagine what was going through the younger boy's mind.

"Excuse me" Danni said, moving away from them and heading down the room towards Evan. She stopped by him, hunching down so she was on level with him and said something to him, attracting his attention. Whatever she said caused a shaky smile to come to his face as he nodded at her. She touched his shoulder lightly again before she stood straight, heading out of the doorway at the back of the room which led towards the kitchen area. Steve turned his attention back to Chin.

"Chin, I want you to get the surveillance footage from the buildings across the street from us as well and go through them. We were followed by a black Lincoln make car with tinted front and back windows. The two officers at Lowry's house reported seeing the same car as well. I want the licence plate of it and I want to see whether there is any way of us finding out the identities of the driver and anyone else who was in the car with him or her."

"On it" Chin said, pulling his mobile phone out from his pocket. Steve nodded at him and Jack before he turned and moved towards the table where Evan was sitting, his gaze flickering up when the door behind Evan reopened and Danni emerged from it a can of soda in her hand. She placed it in front of Evan and took the seat next to him and waited. Steve came to a stop by them and perched himself on the edge of the table, watching as Evan reached out for the can and opened it, taking a long sip of it before he put it back on the surface, keeping his hand wrapped around it as though holding it brought him some comfort.

"Evan" Steve said softly, waiting until the boy looked up at him before he continued. "Have you got any idea where your father was going this morning? Did he mentioned anything to you at all?" He questioned. Evan searched his face for a moment before he shook his head.

"No, not really. I mean he might have done, he often told me where he was going to be if he went out but I was only half listening to him you know? I had a big test and I was studying for it and I wanted to watch a TV program and…"

"Hey it's okay Evan" Danni said, interrupting the boy with a smile. "No one is blaming you for not knowing okay."

"Okay" Evan said shakily, his hand tightening on the can of soda.

"Do you remember anything your Dad might have said in passing to you? Something which probably didn't even seem all that important at the time, like a throw away comment over dinner or something similar?" Danni asked him, tilting her head to the side. Steve looked away from her, twisting himself on the table so he was in a better position to see Evan's reactions. Evan looked deep in thought, eyes moving side to side as his finger tapped nervously against the side of the can.

"He… he did tell me that Cacie would be getting me up today for school. I couldn't be late for it because I had that big test I had been studying for first period. Normally my Dad gets me up every day because he works from home but he said… he said that he had a big meeting this morning so wouldn't be there to do it today. Does that help?" He asked Danni who nodded at him with a wide smile.

"Yeah that helps a lot Evan" She told him with a nod. Evan looked relieved, taking another sip of his soda, his eyes flickering towards Steve for a moment again before he looked back at Danni when she spoke. "Did he mention anything about what the meeting could have been about?"

"No, nothing like that" The boy answered with another shake of his head. "I mean we never really spoke about his work, it's… it's complicated the stuff he does and he didn't want to talk about it and truth is I didn't want to know, you know? I'm not into computers like that. I just want to play games on them but Dad was all about the stuff behind the games. They're his life you know?"

"Yeah I can understand that" Steve said, glancing at Danni when she moved forward in her seat before he continued speaking. "Evan can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your Dad in anyway? Maybe you overheard him having an argument over the phone recently or maybe people who you didn't recognised had come to the house?"

"Hurt my Dad?" Evan repeated, his face whitening at the thought. "No, no I mean why would anyone want to hurt my Dad?" He demanded. "He's never hurt anyone, I'm telling you my Dad is the most boring guy you'll ever meet, and he doesn't do anything if there's a risk of trouble or danger. He says it's not worth the risk."

"These are just routine questions Evan" Danni told him, reaching across and covering his hand with hers briefly. "I know they are difficult to hear but we have to ask them. The more we know, the more we can help him Okay?" She asked, taking her hand away when Evan nodded at her. "Okay, so you haven't heard your Dad argue with anyone recently?"

Evan breathed out noisily, reaching up and running his hand through his hair as he nervously licked his lips. He remained silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I… I heard my Dad arguing with someone over the phone about a week or two ago. It was something to do with his work or at least I think it was. He kept using all these technical terms and phrases that I didn't get but he was getting heated up over whatever it was the other person was saying to him and it was unusual. My Dad is the calmest man you'll meet, he doesn't get mad, and he doesn't even raise his voice most of the time."

"Do you remember what day it was that he made the phone call Evan?" Steve asked.

"It was on a Wednesday" Evan replied instantly. "I remember because it was the day of my soccer practice and I got home early from it. I don't think he even knew that I had overheard the conversation. He was always private about things like that even with me."

"Thank you Evan" Danni said sharing a quick look with Steve. "You've mentioned your Dad a bit but where is your mum? Is she at work?"

"My Mum?" Evan repeated, his shoulders hunching over slightly as though a sudden weight had dropped down on them. "My Mum died when I was seven, it's just me and my Dad." He said quietly, looking away from them to stare to the side of him.

"I'm sorry Evan" Danni said, her voice equally as quiet, she sounded sad. Steve glanced at her, touching her back and giving her a questioning look. She smiled at him, leaning back in her chair and nodded once at him.

"All right Buddy" Steve said, waiting until Evan looked back at him before he continued. "Your father had two men with him in the car he was in earlier, two bodyguards who he had hired to accompany him for the day. Do you have any idea why he would do that? Was it a normal thing for him to do when he was going out to meetings?"

"No" Evan answered, sounding shocked and confused. "Bodyguards? Are you… are you sure?" He asked.

"We're sure" Danni answered, Evan shook his head, slumping back in his seat.

"No, he's never hired bodyguards before as far as I know. I can't believe this is happening to us" He said, sounding lost as he looked up at them. "I mean why exactly is this happening to us? Who took my Dad?" He demanded, a frantic note coming to his voice. "This could be the last time I ever speak to my Dad and what did I do? I called him a dictator because he rang me to wake me up? A Dictator? God what if he really thought I meant it? I can't take it back can I?"

Steve swallowed hard, clenching his teeth together as fragments of his last conversation with his own father, came to his mind, torturing him. He almost jumped when he felt a hand on his knee, squeezing down on it. He glanced down meeting Danni's eyes for a moment, taking in the sympathy and compassion in her gaze before she spoke, taking her hand off of his knee as she turned back to Evan.

"Evan I want you to listen to me okay?" She said leaning towards him. "Your Dad knows you didn't meant it when you called him a dictator okay? Don't think even for a second that he did. What did he do when you said that to him?" She asked him. Evan stared at her for a moment before he reached up and shakily rubbed at his eyes.

"He… he laughed" He answered after a pause. "Like he found it funny or something."

"Would he have laughed if he thought you meant it?" She questioned, smiling when Evan shook his head. "Well there you go then. He knows you love him so try not to think about it. I know it's easier said than done but it's the truth. Your father knew you didn't mean it."

"How do you know that?" Evan demanded, a look of hope coming to his eyes.

"Because I'm a mother and we know this sort of thing, parents know when their child means something and when they don't. It's wired into our DNA or something" She told him. Evan nodded slowly.

"Okay" He said "Okay and… and thank you"

"Evan?" Steve looked up from Danni to see a tall blond woman hurrying towards the table. She was dressed casually in a pink shirt and a pair of jeans. He glanced at Evan as the boy came to his feet and hurried over to her, hugging her tightly when he reached her as she continued to speak. "Are you okay? I so sorry baby I can't believe this is happening. I want you to stay with me okay?" She told Evan who nodded at her, taking a step back and moving back to his seat, retaking it. The woman sat in the free one next to him, gripping his hand. "They'd find your father Evan, everything is going to be okay, trust me."

Steve glanced towards Kono as she came towards them, he nodded his head towards the door which led to the corridor that led to the kitchen area. He touched Danni's back lightly to indicate her to follow as well before he climbed to his feet and headed out of the door, holding it open for them before he spoke.

"Who is that exactly?" He asked, nodding his head towards the woman who was leaning forward in her chair and hugging Evan again.

"Her name is Natalie Reed" Kono answered. "She's Roland Lowry's girlfriend, apparently according to her they've been dating just over a year now."

"That would explain why Evan is so comfortable with her" Danni remarked.

"Where did you find her?" Steve asked the rookie, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for her to answer.

"Her number was the only other number In Lowry's phone other than Evan's who he constantly rang. From the records on his phone they spoke to each other at least once a day and when they weren't speaking they were texting. It was pretty obvious from some of those texts that they were a couple." Kono said as she looked between them. "I gave the number a call and she picked up. I told her who I was, asked what her relationship to Lowry was and then explained to her what happened and asked her to come in. From her reaction it seems that she had no idea he had even been taken."

"Did she know of any reason why someone would want to kidnap her boyfriend?" Steve questioned, frowning when Kono shook her head.

"She says she has no idea. She told me that he's a quiet guy who preferred staying in and watching a movie then going out for a night on the town. She said she knew nothing about his job either, all she knew was that it had something to do with computers. I got the feeling that Lowry didn't discuss his work with her."

"Did she say how they met?" Danni asked curiously.

"At a charity benefit last year" Kono answered. "Though she can't remember what charity it was for. They were seated next to each other at the table, started talking and that was that" Danni nodded, a thoughtful look on her face as she crossed her arms.

"What is it?" Steve asked her. He had seen that look more than once on his partner's face and each time it had been because Danni's mind had picked up on something.

"It's probably nothing" Danni said with a shake of her head. "It's just… check her out if you can Kono, look into her background and see whether everything in her story adds up. Also have a look into Lowry's records and see what charity benefit it actually was and whether it was something which Lowry attended regularly." She asked, smiling when Kono nodded at her.

"I can do that Danni, it's not a problem" Kono stated with a warm smile of her own.

"Kono" Steve said looking away from Danni. "I want you to go with Natalie and Evan to her house and stay close to them. If this is a kidnap and ransom then I'll need you there to set up the trace and everything when they call. I know from your records that you came top in that section during your time at the Academy so it shouldn't be a problem for you" He said, smiling when she nodded.

"I can handle it" She assured him.

"We brought the housekeeper in as well, Acacia Donoghue. We left her in the office for the time being. I want you and Chin to talk to her and see if she knows anything. If she is their housekeeper then she was probably one of the few people who knew what was happening in their house. Do that before you leave with the other two."

"You got it boss" She said, turning and making a move to go back into the room.

"Kono" Danni said, stopping Kono. "We're just going to run down some leads and then I'll come to Reed's house and relieve you from babysitting duty okay? There's no way in hell you're going to miss out on your own graduation if I can help it. The after party celebrations alone are worth not missing it" She commented with a smile which Kono returned.

"Thanks sis" Kono said warmly. "It's cool though, the case comes first like Chin says."

"I'll still try" Danni told her. "Case or not you shouldn't have to miss this, not with all the hard work you've put in to graduating in the first place."

"Hey" Chin said, walking up to them with a small tape in his hand which he lifted up for them to see. "CSU just delivered the footage from the security camera for me to see. I'll have a look through it now and see exactly what went down this morning."

"Good, get Jack to scan it into his system as well and see what he can get from it. We might as well use him and his resources while we have them. If you find anything then call okay?" Steve told Chin who nodded at him. Steve glanced towards Danni when her mobile went off. She fished it out of her bag, her eyebrow rising at the number before she looked at them.

"Excuse me" She remarked, moving away from them. He heard her answer her phone before he turned his attention back to Chin.

"Speaking of Jack how is it going with him?" He asked.

"Honestly?" Chin asked. Steve nodded. "The guy has been really helpful, he's been explaining to me the sort of work which Lowry did while he was at the NSA and it sounds to me that whoever kidnapped him wanted that knowledge."

"What was he doing there?" Steve queried.

"I don't know exactly, he only gave me a brief overview because he's been waiting to brief you and Danni about it, but it had something to do with Cyber threats against the US and how to prevent them." Steve raised his eyebrow at Chin before he looked at Danni as she hung up and came back to them.

"That was the owner of Bruddah's security firm. He found the information about where Lowry was heading this morning before he was kidnapped" She stated, looking at them.

"Where?" Steve demanded.

"Hickam Air Force base" She replied. "I'm assuming you know people there who we can talk to?" She asked him, smiling when he nodded.

"Yeah" He replied thoughtfully before he turned to them. "Chin I want you and Kono to speak to the housekeeper now. Make sure you don't allow Evan and Lowry's girlfriend to leave yet, I want Kono to stay with them. Danni, you and I are going to speak to Jack to see what it was that Lowry was actually doing. There might be a direct link between what he was working on and why he requested the meeting at the air base. After that we'll go down to Hickam and see what we can find out from them. Chin when you've finished the interview focus on the tapes. Everyone know what they are doing?" He questioned, looking around them. "Good" He stated when they nodded. "In that case let's go."

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read my story, I really appreciate it! An especially big thank you if you took the time to review it or favourite it or follow it **


	5. It would be carnage

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry and Natalie Reed do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Hiya, So my plan to do lots of updating didn't quite work out like I had wanted but I do have good reasons, my sister in law had a baby on Sunday and I'm about to get the new keys to my new flats so I've been desperately trying to buy things for it!**

**I've come to the conclusion that writing Steve is a lot tougher than writing Danni or at least writing strictly Steve in this particular story is difficult. So I've come to the conclusion that instead of writing it all from Steve's point of view from here on in I'm going to write different chapters from different perspectives. This will be the same for all future stories though obviously 'The Beginning' and the first four chapters of this story will remain as they were. It won't just be from Steve and Danni's view. I will be adding the odd chapter from other characters perspective as well so you can expect Chin and Kono as well as others. I'm hoping that this will make the story better!**

**Quite a few people have asked about Toast and whether he will feature in this story. The answer to that is yes. Toast will definitely feature in this story though whether the chapter we meet him in will be Steve or Danni's perspective I don't know yet.**

**I know it's a change from what I originally planned but I really hope you stick with me for it.**

**Writing the scenes with Jack has been pretty awesome as well for me in this story. I personally really like him as a character though that could be because I know him well. There's more to him than meets the eye that's for sure.**

**There are some mentions of a member of Danni's family in this chapter. There won't be any details into him yet, there might not be any other then the fact that Danni's family occasionally cross her mind.**

**I should also point out that Danni has two talents which she is very good at, number one is researching people and places, their backgrounds etc. and etc. She is very good at bringing a file together with all the information needed. She is also good at reading people through their body language and expressions. Other things like technology though… not quite so good lol! I just wanted to mention it because you'll see a bit of that in this chapter.**

**I think that's all there is to say for now. Enjoy the chapter and I hope to see you in the next one.**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Jack fills in Steve and Danni on exactly what Lowry was working on…**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Five

It would be carnage

* * *

**27th September 2010**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Danielle 'Danni' Williams Point of view

* * *

Danni breathed out slowly, reaching up and rubbing tiredly at the back of her neck. She could feel the beginning of a headache growing behind her eyes and was swiftly coming to the conclusion that wearing a dress today was a bad idea. She should have changed into a pair of jeans when Steve had told her over the phone that they had a case but she had hoped that things would turn out for the best. In future she would have to ask Steve what sort of case they were actually doing to stop this from occurring again. She had hoped that it would be a simple case but it was anything but simple, there were NSA agents' involved, suspicious girlfriends and god knows what else they still had to find.

Something wasn't adding up with it all but she couldn't figure out what it was. It was there in her mind, teasing her, telling her that she had the answer but every time she thought she had it, it would slip away from her.

"Danni are you coming in or are you planning on staying out here in the corridor for the rest of the day?"

Danni blinked, glancing up at Steve and met his eyes for a moment, searching them before she nodded at him.

"Yeah I'm coming" She told him, moving towards him and ducked under the arm he was using to hold the door open for her. She looked around her, scanning the area taking everything in. Chin and Kono were moving across the room towards the room where Danni had stored the housekeeper, they were talking, no doubt discussing their strategy with each other. Lowry's girlfriend was still sitting at the table with Evan, her arms wrapped round his slim shoulder as the young boy stared down glumly at the table surface. Danni sighed, her heart going out to him, she couldn't imagine what was going through his mind at present time but she doubted any of it was good.

God she hoped they found Lowry before it was too late.

She glanced round as Steve lightly grabbed her arm, pulling her in the direction of the computer table where Jack was standing before he let her go giving her an unreadable look over his shoulder. Danni nodded once at him to show she was on the same page as him, stopping in surprise when Lowry's girlfriend quickly overtook them and planted herself in front of Steve. Danni stopped next to him, glancing towards him. He seemed unruffled by the move though she could tell from the slight furrow of his forehead that he was wondering what she wanted.

"Yes?" He remarked, glancing back at Danni with a questioning look in his eyes when the woman remained silently, content instead to look between the pair of them, her blue eyes sharp and searching before she spoke to them.

"I'm Natalie Reed" She announced to them. "I'm Roland's girlfriend. Look I think everything considering I've been pretty patient but I want to know exactly what is going on. I got a call from one of your officers at my work, asking me personal questions about what my relationship with my boyfriend is, before I was told to come in here because Evan was going to be here and he needed me. Then when I get here I find out from Evan that Roland has been kidnapped. The Officer who spoke to me on the phone said that you were both in charge so I want to know what is happening. Have you found Roland yet? Is he safe? Do you know if he's okay?"

"I understand that you have a lot of questions which you want answered Ms Reed" Steve remarked, his eyes flickering to Danni for a moment before he focused his attention back on the taller woman. "But there is nothing which we can tell you at present time other than the fact that we are looking into this case and that we will do everything in our power to find Mr Lowry and bring him back home safely to you and Evan. If there is anything though you could tell us which would help us then now is the time to tell us."

"I wish there was something I could tell you which would help you but there isn't. Roland never spoke of his work to me or to anyone really. He was a very private man" She told them. "So you have nothing at all? No leads? Nothing?" She pressed.

"Nothing which we can discuss yet" Steve repeated.

Danni caught sight of an expression crossing the other woman's face which looked almost like unease or irritation though it was quickly gone to be replaced with the distraught look which Danni would have expected to see considering the situation. She absently bit down on her lower lip, making a mental note to herself to look into Natalie Reed's background the minute she could. There was something about the other woman which wasn't quite right though what it was she didn't know, all she knew was that she had a bad feeling about her. She looked the woman up and down quickly, she was clearly in good shape, the sort of shape which someone achieved through training of some kind but what training Danni didn't know, perhaps it was a requirement of her job though Danni couldn't think of many jobs outside the military, security or the police which required that.

Danni crossed her arms over her chest, listening carefully when Natalie began speaking to them again, rubbing her hands together as though she was nervous though it seemed almost rehearsed like she was playing a part.

"I'm sorry, I want to be more help to you but I can't think straight. All I can think about is Roland out there somewhere. I can't understand why all of this would happen or why someone would take him. He is a good man and a loving father who wouldn't hurt a fly. There's no reason for anyone to do this."

"It's not an uncommon feeling to experience in a situation like this. Most people ask exactly the same questions when it happened." Danni remarked quietly, searching Natalie's face closely when the other woman turned to look at her. "I know it's difficult but you have to listen to us. We know what we're doing and we have experience in this. Like my partner has said, all of us will do absolutely everything we can to bring Mr Lowry back to Evan and we won't rest until we have everyone who is involved in his kidnapping in custody."

Danni tilted her head slightly to the side, detecting the flicker of unease again in Natalie's eyes. Unease which made little to know sense unless the other woman was hiding something from them.

"Well I hope you do Detective and I hope you find Roland" Natalie said in response, glancing over their shoulders towards where Evan still sat, looking lost in his own world. She looked back at them. "I don't know what Evan would actually do if something happened to his father. The two of them are extremely close and always have been. I've always put it down to the fact his mother died when he was young. It was always just the two of them before I came into the picture. A second loss like that, well it would devastate him.

"As I said before Ms Reed, we are looking into this and rest assure we will find answers and we will find the person who is responsible for this." Steve remarked, a reserved note to his voice as he nodded at Natalie and move to the side of her, clearly attempting to sidestep her so he could continue towards the computer table.

"I appreciate that" Natalie said, taking a step to the side as well so she was in his way again. "However I want to take Evan home with me to my house." She told them, her eyes flickering between them again before she focused fully again on Steve. "He needs to be somewhere where he is familiar with and he has been over to my house several times in the past, he's even stayed overnight there. I'm assuming that his home is now out of bounds to him?" She questioned, a probing tone coming to her voice.

"You can take Evan back to your house shortly but not yet" Steve answered, Danni glanced at him catching the annoyed undercurrent to his voice which he was hiding behind his professional tone. "I'm sending one of my team with you to accompany the two of you, they'll stay with you there. But they are currently interviewing someone at the moment so please remain seated over at the table and when they are ready they will come for you. Then you can go" He told her, his tone making it clear that he expected his command to be obeyed. "Now if you excuse me Ms Reed, my partner and I have work to be getting on with, every second counts as I'm sure you can appreciate."

"I appreciate the offer Commander McGarrett but Evan and I will be fine by ourselves there. Whoever wanted Roland has him. Why would they try to come after me or Evan when they already have who they clearly wanted?"

"For leverage" Steve replied simply. "Not only that but there's a chance that whoever took him will get in contact with the pair of you to make a ransom demand. I want one of my people to be there in case that happens. They can help you when it comes to the proper things to say to the kidnappers and they'll be able to track and trace the call. Until that time, please stay seated." He nodded at her once again before he moved passed her and towards the table. Danni glanced at her thoughtfully, smiling when Natalie turned to look at her.

"Please let one of us know if you or Evan need a drink or something." She remarked politely before she headed after her partner, glancing over her shoulder to see Natalie staring down at the floor, one hand curling into a fist at her side before she loosened it, standing straight and headed across the room back to Evan. Danni frowned, looking back to the front, coming to an abrupt stop when she realised that Steve had stopped moving and she was about to collide with him. She tilted her head back, opening her mouth to rebuke him when she stopped catching the thoughtful look on his face.

"What is it?" He asked her.

Danni blinked.

"What is what exactly?" She questioned in confusion, raising an eyebrow when Steve sighed, bringing his eyes up towards the ceiling before he looked back down at her.

"You have this expression." He announced, waving his hand towards her face before he dropped it. "And every time you get that same expression on your face it's because there is something which is bothering you. So do us both a favour and tell me what it is about this case which has caused that look or is it something to do with your personal life in which case tell me what it is so you can focus on the case at hand."

"Why are you always so interested in my personal life McGarrett?" She questioned back, placing her hands on her hips and fixing him with a stern look which he returned. She met his gaze for a moment before she huffed, throwing her hands in the air and looked away. "No it's not about my personal life, it's something about the case."

"Okay" Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What about the case imparticular? Is it the way he was taken? The fact that the kidnappers have made no attempt at contact us with a ransom demand? The girlfriend? The man himself? Tell me"

"I don't know" Danni replied, holding up her hand in a classic stop sign when Steve opened up his mouth to speak, a stubborn look coming to his face. "I mean it Steve, I don't know. Yes, something about the girlfriend is bothering me but I don't know what it is yet. It's just, don't you think that she seems remarkably calm for someone who has just found out about her boyfriend of being kidnapped? And what about her insistence on taking Evan and going back to her place alone? Most people would be grateful to have someone with them who knows what they are doing and how to react but she just seemed frustrated. I just don't know whether it means something or whether I'm reading into it too much. Perhaps it's just the way which she copes with things? Perhaps beneath it all she's screaming the place down and pulling out her hair but she doesn't want to show Evan how she is feeling, so the answer Steve is simply. I don't know."

Steve looked at her for a moment, searching her face before he reached up and ran his hand through his hair.

"Danni" He remarked, causing her to smile at him at the way he said her name, it was a mixture of emotions, the predominate one being a frustrated questioning tone which flavoured the single word.

"Yeah I know, you hate it when I can't give you a simple yes or no answer to your question. I get it, I wish I could give you one but at this time I can't. I'll start running a background check on her but that will come later. Don't you think we should speak to Jack now? He's been waiting for us and we're beginning to run out of time Steve. I don't want to be the one who has to tell Evan that his only remaining family member is dead because we wasted time talking instead of finding his dad.

"Okay then, I'll leave it for now" Steve answered, turning and completing his journey to the table, glancing towards her when she caught up with him. "Look into her though Danno" He told her quietly. "Find out whether she's who she says she is and give Kono the heads up as soon as you do. I'd rather our Rookie went in there knowing something was up rather than leaving it to chance."

"Leave it with me Steve, researching is my speciality remember" She replied with a smile at him

"Your speciality seems to change every day" He answered, a warmth to his voice which made her smile widen at him.

"Well that would be because I'm multitalented Steve, now focus" She said to him, turning serious as she moved her gaze away from Steve and onto Jack, watching the tall man as Steve spoke to him.

"So what exactly can you tell us about the work that Lowry did with your agency O'Connor?" Steve asked his voice turning brisk as he leaned his hands against the table, pushing against it slightly. His eyes focused on Jack. The older man glanced up from the screen he was working on, pale blue eyes moving searchingly between them as he spoke.

"I can tell you quite a bit" The blond man replied, typing something onto the keyboard of his laptop and nodded his head towards the large screen above the computer table. "According to his work files Lowry did a lot of work when it came to the Cyber threats made against the US. Especially threats which would debilitate the military in any way. He was convinced that there was a way of being able to shut down every piece of technological machinery as long as you had the right key to do it with. He was pretty vocal about it when he was there, telling anyone who would listen to him about it. It didn't make him greatly popular with the men in charge as you can imagine."

Danni frowned, reaching up and tugging thoughtfully on her lower lip before she spoke up.

"Okay, so for the few of us who are not quite so great when it comes to technology what exactly do you mean?" She asked. "What technological machinery are you talking about?"

"All of them Williams" Jack responded "I literally mean everything which uses a chip or which relies on electricity or computers to run it or provide it any kind of information. So you're talking about mobile phones, computer, power grids, traffic lights, intensive care units. Al the things which you rely on in your day to day life, the ones you take for granted would be gone. People are so reliant on technology that they don't know how to function without it anymore. You take it out for even a short amount of time and there will be carnage on a massive scale. People will die and there would be no way of dealing with it because the emergency services are just as reliant on technology as the people are. The only way around it would be a master key which would override it or the person who had the key in the first place turning it back on. This doesn't even need to be an all-out black out. The person could pick one particular machine or area to switch off. Lowry said that the key would be able to turn off just one thing at a time if you wanted. The people who had it could use it any time they wanted and no one would know about what they had done until it was too late to act."

Danni swallowed hard, remaining silent as she thought about the image Jack described. She had been working in New Jersey one day when there had been a black out and it had possibly been the worst day at the job which she had, had there. It was certainly something she wouldn't want to relive if she had the choice. She glanced at Steve when he spoke, breaking the silence which had descended between the three of them.

"You said earlier that Lowry focused most his attention on the military" He asked, waiting until Jack nodded. "Do you mean the repercussions to the military if this should be created?"

"Yeah" Jack responded.

"Could you tell us about that?" Steve asked, Jack shook his head at them.

"How about I show you instead" He said, looking back at his screen and typing as he continued to speak to them. "Lowry made virtual simulations on what would happen if the key was put into play. I guess he wanted to show the big bosses exactly what he was talking about and the consequences of it. They kept them on the system." Jack glanced pressed down on the enter key, looking up and nodded towards the screen. "Check it out." He told them.

Danni turned to the screen, raising an eyebrow as it was filled with a bird's eye view of an aircraft carrier, the camera angle changed, rushing towards it, moving past the area where the aircrafts were landing and into the main area of the ship, through corridors filled with talking personnel until they ended up in an area filled with radars and screens which Danni took to be the bridge. She felt a slight smile come to her face at the sight of it, her younger brother Chris was no doubt on one of them right now, depending on wherever it was they had shipped him and his jet to.

Her smile disappeared when the radars and screens on the simulation suddenly started to flicker and flash before they all went black. The bridge lights cut out as well, leaving them in complete darkness before the screen lit up in a faint red light. Lighting the scene enough that Danni could see the panic on the faces of the officers and personnel. She blinked when the screen suddenly split into half, showing the outer deck again just as a fighter plane crashed onto the deck, sliding out of control, taking out people and planes before it erupted into a fireball.

Danni stared at the carnage, blinking when it suddenly stilled.

"As you can see Lowry didn't hold anything back when it came to his simulations" Jack remarked, standing straight with a serious look on his face. "That was just the damage caused in one aircraft, it doesn't take much to imagine what it could do to the fleet. The military could be crippled in a matter of minutes."

Danni bit down on her thumb nail, staring at the screen, her thoughts wandering to her brother before she forced them back on the case. She glanced at Steve, surprised to see him looking at her before she looked at Jack.

"Did his bosses pay attention to his warning?" She asked.

"I've got no idea, the record unfortunately don't give any account on what actually happened in the meeting or what their decision was in regards to it." Jack answered. "I do know however that Lowry left the NSA a week after that meeting. He didn't even work his notice. He just left his desk one day and didn't return. The next thing anyone knew was that he was living here in Hawaii with his son."

"If something like that key ever got into the wrong hands." Steve remarked, running his hand through his hair, his eyes moving side to side.

"Then we would be in a world of trouble with no real way of getting out of it. If this key is now real then we need to make sure that it doesn't end up in the wrong hands. Some countries would sell their souls for that chance to obtain it."

"But if Lowry knew the risk of making the key then there's no reason to believe that he would make it" Danni said, glancing at Jack in time to catch the other man shrugging.

"Look, I've never worked with the guy personally but Roland Lowry was a bit of a legend in the cyber area of the NSA. He was known for taking an idea and not being able to let go of it until he could prove it. There's a chance that he left the agency because they wanted to him to move on and he wasn't quite ready to do that yet. If he did that, if he continued on his mini project then you might have the exact reason behind why he kidnapped him. They want that knowledge."

Danni nodded, her stomach sinking as she looked over her shoulder to where Evan was still sitting, his hand wrapped round his can of soda.

"Chin is going to go through this morning footage from the scene and some footage from outside here. We were followed on our way here so I want to know the details on that car. When he gets it could you run it through your software and see what you can find out about it and about this morning." Steve remarked, attracting her attention. Jack raised his eyebrow at Steve, looking amused at the request.

"You know my bosses made it pretty clear that I was only meant to give you a history on Lowry's work and then leave" He commented, crossing his arm over his chest, a smile still lingering around his mouth. "But I guess since I'm already here and I haven't packed up yet then I'll help you. If you get me the tapes then I'll do what you need me to, if there is anything on those tapes to find then I'll find them. Just do me a favour and maybe keep that off your reports. NSA are a bit protective over their systems and who gets to actually use them." He remarked his half smile breaking into a grin. "I'll also start searching into the type of work Lowry was doing here in Hawaii to see whether our theory was right or not while I wait for the footage to get here. If I find anything then I'll call you on your cells."

"Sounds good" Danni said before Steve could say anything. "Will you need our phone numbers?" She asked, frowning slightly when he shook his head at her.

"I've already got them." He replied with a nod at them before he looked back towards his screen, his smile disappearing into a look of concentration. Danni glanced at Steve when he lightly grabbed her arm and gave it a tug, indicating without words for her to come with him.

"We're heading off to the air base now" He remarked to her. Danni nodded watching as Steve looked around him, his eyes narrowing for a moment before he looked back at Jack. "O'Connor, do me a favour and keep an eye on Lowry's girlfriend and his son. Don't let them leave the office without Kono with them." Danni watched Jack follow Steve's gaze before he nodded.

"You're beginning to owe me one with all these favours you're asking for" He remarked dryly. "But I'll keep an eye on them for you, unless Kono is with them then I'll stop them from leaving." Danni smiled to herself, picking up her bag and shouldering it.

"Thanks for this Jack, we appreciate it" She told him before she looked at Steve. "Shall we?"

Steve nodded at her, and turned with a final look around, heading over to the entrance and out into the corridor. Danni smiled at Jack before she headed after Steve, her mind going over the case as she made her way towards the lift.

The fact that they hadn't discovered Lowry's body yet was good news since it probably meant that he was still alive and hidden somewhere on the island. There were only two reasons she could think of for that. Either Lowry hadn't given them what they wanted yet or he was still in the process of doing it. Hopefully taking as much time as possible to do it to give them time to find him,

Danni glanced towards Steve but he was too busy staring at the door, a frown on his face which made her wonder what he was thinking. She glanced back towards the lift doors as they opened and stepped out, heading across the lobby and out the door, she was aware of Steve stopping by the guards but ignored him, opening the door and stepped out onto the front step. Her eyes moving to the car park entrance looking for any sign of the black car Steve mentioned. There was nothing though, just an empty street.

"Ready?" Steve asked, touching her back as he moved past her. Danni nodded headed after him, her eyes narrowing when she saw him moving towards her car, unlocking it and climbing into the driver seat.

"Oh god" She murmured to herself, realising that she had forgotten to take the keys from him. She sighed, closing her eyes briefly before she headed to the passenger seat, opening it and climbing in. She looked at Steve, rolling her eyes at the expression on his face as he started the car up. "Don't think that this" She said, waving her hand between them "Is going to be an everyday occurrence because it's not. I'll be driving tomorrow."

Steve smirked at her.

"That's tomorrow" He pointed out "And this is today, so let's get going" He said, turning from her and pressing his foot on the pedal. Danni rolled her eyes again.

It was going to be another long day she could just feel it.

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read the story. A massive, massive thank you if you have left me a review. It means a lot to me **


	6. He made the key

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry, Natalie Reed and Brigadier General Sam Nathanson do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here is chapter six.**

**We've jumped back to Steve's point of view for this chapter.**

**I actually had a lot of fun writing the conversation between Steve and Danni in the car. Sometimes I forget that they have only been partners for five days and are still learning about each other with every conversation. I like the banter and I like the curiosity Steve exhibits, he won't stop until he knows every detail about her lol. I'm still hoping for a cargument from the pair of them but until Steve does something which is enough to really piss Danni off… which will probably happen in a later chapter… then we'll have to wait for it and simply have the causal flirting between them instead.**

**You'll learn a bit more about Danni's background as well in this chapter though not a great deal. It's fun to think that as Steve learns more, you, the reader, will learn more as well. She's got a lot of background, a lot of stories and god knows what else. Maybe one time I'll write a short story about her time in New Jersey. Just keep in mind that Danni had pretty much evolved into her own character and is still evolving. She has a lot in common with male Danny but also a lot of things different as well. Hence the different back story. I mean we don't actually know hardly anything about male Danny's background… not really so it will be fun to explore Danni's background… and trust me it will be explored. As will Steve's, Chin's and Kono's background.**

**I made the rank of the man they meet at the airbase as a Brigadier General which appears to be quite high up the chain of command. It isn't listed anywhere but I thought that since he was high enough to accept a meeting with Lowry that his rank might be quite high as well. As they were on an airbase I made the assumption that it would be air force ranks used on base. So sorry if this is wrong.**

**Nothing more to say really accept I hope you all enjoy it enough to review **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve and Danni head to the airbase looking for proof to back up Jack's theory.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

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Chapter Six

He made the key

* * *

**27th September 2010**

**Danni William's Camaro**

**Ali'iolani Hale car park**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Steven 'Steve' McGarrett's point of view

* * *

Steve glanced from side to side, pulling Danni's car out into the main road joining the traffic, his eyes automatically moving to his side mirror to see whether he could see any sign of the black Lincoln car. He could see nothing which resembled it, which meant either one of two things. One, they were being tailed, but by experts not amateurs who knew exactly what they were doing and how to disappear or they were not being followed. Steve thought that the second option was more likely.

He looked towards Danni when she shifted in her seat, turning her head away from her own side mirror to look towards him.

"I don't see anything" She told him "Or at least I can't see the black Lincoln."

"Me neither" Steve admitted, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "They are probably still staking the headquarters waiting for Evan to emerge so they can follow him. Whoever they are, it's him they are interested in, not in us."

"We'll have to warn Kono to keep a look out for them, if they realise that Evan is being transported to a safe house then they might try to replicate what they did this morning. Take out the car, take out Kono and then grab Evan before anyone could react. It might be helpful to have a police escort for when she leave just for back up." Danni said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs, a thoughtful expression on her face before she sighed. "That's if it is the kidnappers after him." Steve frowned slightly, hitting the indicator and moving into the next lane so he could take the upcoming left.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked "If it is the kidnappers, if it isn't them then who is it exactly?" Danni shrugged, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck before she spoke.

"Possibly undercover Detectives sent by Captain Hookano to keep an eyes on him." She said almost reluctantly as though she didn't want to share her thoughts with him. Steve remained silent for a moment, taking the left before he looked towards her, his eyes flickering between her face and the road.

"Undercover Detectives?" He repeated, pulling to a stop at a red light. "Why would Captain Hookano put a tail on Evan Lowry when the case isn't his? HPD have nothing to do with this kidnapping. It belongs to us. It's a Governor's taskforce case."

"Because it's Captain Hookano Steve" Danni said patiently. "Look I've lost count of the number of times I saw something similar when I worked on his team. According to Meka, the Captain has decided he's had enough of being Captain of the Detective and instead wants to move up the ladder which means he needs to fill his CV with high profile cases like the kidnapping of a former NSA agent for example. He's not going to give a rat's ass hat the case belongs to us. He just cares about being able to claim some of the credit for it." She explained, twisting in her seat so she could face him as moved away from the light. "If he's put undercover Detectives on Lowry's son then he can say that he was involved in the case even though technically he wasn't, that way he can claim credit. I've seen him do it before but when I asked about it I was told that I wouldn't understand because I was a Haole and it was the way it was done on the island so I stopped asking" She remarked, reaching up and hooking some hair behind her ear. "I doubt that it would stop now, if anything it might happen more now that there's a taskforce to deal with all the elite cases."

Steve gritted his teeth together, stepping down on the accelerator as he stared out of the window screen, his mind going through what Danni had told him. He could feel her looking at him but when he glanced towards her from the corner of his eyes she had moved her attention to staring out of the window, her elbow resting against the window framing her face.

He looked away. If what Danni said was true then he would have to go to HPD and speak to the Hookano directly and warn him off using such tactics. He needed to make it clear that their cases was their cases and that was that. He couldn't risk having any doubt in his mind in the heat of battle. He needed to know who the good guys were and who the bad ones were. The last thing he wanted was for any of his team, himself included, hitting a friendly because they didn't know they were there undercover.

"I might be wrong though" Danni suddenly said, breaking the silence between them. "This is just a theory. It could easily be the people who took his father looking for the opportunity to take Evan as leverage."

"Either way we need to cover all bases" Steve answered. "Danni I want you to call Meka after the air base and see whether he knows anything about any Undercover Detectives being out on the field. If he doesn't then ask him to do some subtle digging and see what he can find out? I assume he'd do that for you if you ask?" He said, Danni looked at him.

"Of course he would" She said sounding almost offended by his comment. "We were partners for six months Steve, that's not just something you forget when you've been saving each other from dying or being shot at nearly every day." She told him sternly.

"Good, then get on it. In the meantime let's hope Chin and O'Connor find something on those tapes we can use which will help us to identify them."

Danni nodded, looking down at her large bag when suddenly the air was filled with music. Steve watched from the corner of his eye as she hauled the bag onto her lap from the passenger foot well and unzipped it, searching through it with a frown. He glanced down at the large blue bag and wondered firstly why she always used such big bags in the first place and secondly just how many bags Danni actually owned since the bag she was using today was the third bag he had seen her use in five days. He glanced back towards the road, taking a right as Danni produced the phone with a sound of satisfaction and pressed the connect button.

"Williams" She answered. Steve raised his eyebrow at the change in her voice. Gone was the warm tone which he had grown used to hearing when Danni was addressing one of the taskforce, to be replaced by a professional tone that had the slightest hint of coldness to it. He watched as the thoughtful look which seemed to be her natural expression disappeared into a wide grin he hadn't seen before. Clearly whoever it was who had rang her was someone she wanted to speak to. He wondered briefly whether it was Ryan Moore considering how close the pair of them had seemed the few times he had seen them together or heard Danni speaking to him on the phone, but his silent question was answered a second later when she continued to speak. "Hey Amy, how are you? I'm sorry I didn't call you last night. By the time I got home and cooked and got Grace to bed it was late. I literally ended up going to bed about twenty minutes after Gracie did." She fell silent, clearly listening to whatever it was the other woman was saying to her. Steve could hear the sound of another feminine voice with a distinct Hawaiian accent over the phone but couldn't make out the words. "Yeah me too" Danni said with a soft laugh. She looked towards Steve giving him a quick pointed look before she waved her hand to the road, telling him silently to pay attention.

"I'm not going to kill us. I am a pretty awesome driver, you should just admit it now and save us both the trouble of arguing over it later." Steve murmured to her, grinning when she rolled her eyes at him before focusing back on her call.

"You know Amy you don't need to compliment me about my food. I've already decided to make some homemade coleslaw and potato salad for tomorrow. If I have time later I might do something more but I don't know what yet. Could you send me a text with what everyone is bringing because then I'll choose something which isn't on the list." She nodded before continuing. "No I've got no idea what Ryan is bringing, is there something you need because let me know and I'll let him know he's on the early shift today so he'll finish about four which will give him plenty of time to get to the market place. Yeah, yeah I know we don't have to bring anything but it's a mainland thing. It's what we do when we get invited out somewhere to eat." Danni suddenly brought the phone from her ear frowning at it. "Amy I've got another call, send me that text and I'll speak to you later. Okay bye" she said, disconnecting the call and bringing the phone back to her ear. "Williams… Oh hey Kono, give me a second and I'll put you on loudspeaker so Steve can hear you as well."

Steve watched as Danni pressed down on a button and held the handset between them, nodding at Steve to let him know that he could speak.

"What have you got for us Kono?" He questioned.

"We managed to get quite a bit out of the housekeeper boss" Kono answered briskly. "The housekeeper told me that Lowry had been receiving quite a few late night phone calls and by late night she means after ten PM."

"How does she know that exactly?" Danni asked curiously. "As far as I knew most housekeepers tend to finish around about six and seven. They prepare the evening meal, do the washing up and leave." She commented, glancing at Steve. He shot her a questioning look causing her to sigh. "Duncan has a housekeeper" She told him. "When I pick up Grace, I sometimes go in and wait and she's always there so we talk occasionally. She told me about her job once and what it entailed and when she went home."

"Right" Steve said, briefly wondering how rich Danni's ex was to afford a housekeeper before he focused on Kono as the younger woman began to speak again, answering Danni's question.

"She is with them twenty four, seven. Apparently Lowry hired her over a year ago when they first moved to the island and one of the conditions of her employment was that she would live with them. There's a guest house at the back of the grounds. That where she lives. Lowry wanted someone who would always be on call and available for Evan."

"What did she say about the late night phone calls then?" Steve asked.

"Well at first she thought that the calls were from Natalie Reed because according to Acacia the phone calls started up about a month or so after Reed came into the picture."

"So she thought they were bootie calls" Danni remarked thoughtfully, smiling when Kono made an amused sound.

"Something like that" She agreed warmly. "She thought that for about a month but then Lowry received one of them when Natalie was staying and she knew it wasn't her because Acacia was in the house that night because Evan was sick and she was looking after him. She had been in the kitchen and she could see Natalie from where she was standing and the other woman had no phone."

"Ruling her out in Acacia's mind" Danni said.

"What did she think after that?" Steve questioned, tapping his finger against the steering wheel as he stopped at another red light.

"Well after that Acacia assumed that Lowry was having an affair. She said that the phone calls never seemed to last longer than five minutes and that after a while Lowry would seem rattled as soon as they ended, becoming paranoid, boosting up the security on the property, pretty much turning the place into a fortress."

"So he clearly thought someone was after him" Danni stated, she glanced at Steve, touching his arm briefly to gain his attention before speaking. "We should contact the telephone company and see whether they can give us a record of those calls. If they don't have a recording of them then at least they could give us a number which we could start tracing. If the phone is still on and active and isn't a burn phone then it might help us narrow down a location to start focusing on."

"Sounds good, Kono did you hear that?" He asked waiting until Kono made a sound of acknowledgement. "Get Chin and O'Connor to look into that aspect of it. Even if the phone is off, O'Connor should be able to remotely turn it back on and use the GPS chip to get us that location."

"I'll tell them. They are just about to go through the footage of the camera outside the headquarters looking for the car." She told them.

"Good" Steve answered. "Did the housekeeper ever ask Lowry about the phone calls he was receiving?"

"We asked her but she said no" Kono said, "I got the feeling that she was worried that if she said something then she might lose her job. Lowry had been increasingly paranoid recently. Convinced he was being watched or followed."

"It's not paranoia if it's actually happening." Danni remarked.

"When you speak to Chin about the number ask him to speak to Acacia again. Don't allow her to leave with Evan yet. I want to know when these calls are coming in, she must remember days or dates. The more she can tell us, the easier it will be to pin them down and try and find a pattern to the calls." Steve remarked, glancing at Danni when she spoke straight after him.

"It's more than likely that these calls were from the kidnappers rather than a lover. If he was growing increasingly rattled after each call then it would explain that reaction. It would also explain why he hired the bodyguards, because he already knew someone was interested in him and in whatever it was he was working on at the time."

"Probably" Steve agreed. "Kono keep a close eye on the girlfriend. Danni's going to look into her background as soon as possible but there's something not quite right about her so keep your guard up around her."

"I'll call you the minute I have anything Kono, even if it's just to tell you she's clean. While we remember, keep an eye out for a black Lincoln. It followed us when we had Evan in the car but hasn't followed us now which probably means its Evan they are watching."

"Right, got it. Thanks for the head up. I'm going to leave now with them so I'll text you the address we end up at as soon as we do. See you later." She said, hanging up on them. Danni ended the call their end, throwing it back into her bag which she dropped back by her feet.

"You know" She remarked thoughtfully. "We should get Kono something for her graduation, just something to congratulate her on surviving training. Graduating the academy is a big deal and it's not something you get to do every day. It's important."

"Okay" He agreed easily. "Any idea what we should get her?" Danni shook her head.

"We could club together for it or just give her something small from each of us. Give me an hour or so and I'll figure something out. I'll speak to Chin later about it as well and see what he thinks. He knows Kono better than the two of us combined after all." She shifted in her seat. "Are we nearly at the airbase?" She asked, checking the watch on her wrist.

"Five more minutes' tops" Steve answered. They fell quiet for a moment, the silence surprising comfortable before Steve broke it. "So it sounds like you have some plans for tomorrow then?" He remarked casually.

"Yeah I do" She replied. Steve nodded.

"Plans which include potato salad and coleslaw."

"They do" She agreed, an amused look coming to her face.

"Homemade potato salad and coleslaw" Steve clarified. "Not many people know how to make homemade potato salad and coleslaw."

"Is that a fact?" Danni asked.

"It is" Steve said.

"Don't tell me you are one of the few special ones who can?" She asked him, crossing her arms and watching him.

"Nope" He admitted "Though if I tried it I'm sure I could do it."

"I'm sure you could" She agreed, the amusement becoming more pronounced.

"But you are one of those people." He stated.

"Steve if you're trying in a roundabout way to ask me if I cook then the answer is yes. I cook homemade meals daily. I have a seven year old daughter who hates processed food, if I don't cook her meals then she doesn't eat. It's as simple as that. I make her breakfast, I make her lunch and I make her dinner. It's all part of the glamorous life of a mother."

"Did you teach yourself?" He asked her curiously.

"Some of it yeah, everything else I learnt from my mum and my grandmothers. They are pretty old fashion about some ideas and they all strongly believed that a woman should know how to prepare food, not for a man but for herself."

"So you are an expert in New Jersey food?" Steve questioned, glancing at her when she laughed.

"All types of food." She assured him before she tilted her head. "Why do you think it's just New Jersey food? What would New Jersey food be exactly for that matter?" She asked him. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Pasta? Italian? Hot dogs?" He said, swiftly continuing when he caught the look on her face. "And you'd know it because you were born and raised in New Jersey" He remarked as though it was an obvious answer. He glanced when she made an amused sound.

"You have a lot to learn partner" She told him lightly. "Raised in New Jersey for some of my life yes but born in New Jersey? Well the answer to that is no. I wasn't born in New Jersey, I moved there later on." She looked away from him out of her window, straightening as her voice became professional. "Looks like we've arrived" She said nodding towards the huge airbase beside them.

Steve frowned at her before he nodded, his mind slipping into work mode again.

"This is it" He agreed. He hit the indicator and pulled into a small side road, moving down in until he came to a stop by a security checkpoint. He hit the button for the window and watched it roll down as a man dressed in a military uniform with an assault rifle strapped to his back exited it, eyes scanning the area before they focused on Danni's car. Steve watched as the man approached, stopping just out of range of the car door. Steve looked around him, wondering how many guns were on them now and decided it was probably four or more. The military took it security seriously. He glanced towards Danni quickly over his shoulder to see her reaction but she merely looked calm, hands on her lap where they could be seen as she leant slightly forward so she could see past Steve. Her eyes met his for a moment with a thoughtful look before Steve turned back to the guard as he spoke.

"Can I help you both?" He asked them, his voice void of emotion merely sounding concise, sharp grey eyes looked over each of them, lingering on their empty hands before he looked at Steve.

"I hope you can. I'm Lieutenant Commander McGarrett and this is my partner Detective Williams. We're with the Governor's task force. We need to speak to someone about a man called Roland Lowry." The man nodded slightly.

"Badges" He commanded, Steve reached into the pocket of his cargo pants and withdrew his badge, reaching his hand back and taking the one which Danni handed to him before he passed them to the man. The guard glanced around him, taking a step forward and took the badges from Steve, looking down at them for a moment before he looked back up. "Wait here" He stated, twisting on the spot and heading back towards the security check point. He nodded at two of the arm guards outside who moved closer to the car, hands on their weapons. Steve had no doubt that they could have them out of their holsters and fired before Steve's hand even finished reaching for his gun. He looked away from them, moving in his seat so he could look at Danni who was looking around her.

"Security is tight" She remarked simply.

"It's no surprise, security, especially at military bases like this, have been heightened since 9/11. Probably always will be now. There's stuff kept here that the military do not want getting into the wrong hands." Steve answered.

"It seems that Jack's theory about the key is looking more and more likely" She remarked with a sigh, reaching up and rubbing at her neck again.

"Neck ache?" He questioned. Danni glanced at him, looking surprised by the question.

"A bit, it's been a stressful week after all" She remarked with a half-smile at him. Steve smiled back, turning as the door to the security check point opened and the man from before stepped out still holding their badges.

"Let's see what they have to say" Steve remarked.

"Thank you for waiting Commander, Detective" The man said with a nod at each of them as he passed their badges back through the window to them. "Please drive through the base until you reach the third car park on the right. Park in there and then head straight to the mess hall which is the large building as soon as you exit the parking area. Brigadier General Nathanson will meet you outside there and will be able to answer your queries. Have a nice day Sir, Ma'am." He stated.

"Thank you First Lieutenant" Steve said, his eyes dropping to the stripes on the man's uniform. The man nodded at them again, stepping away from the car and turned, raising his voice, clearly addressing the men within. "Permission granted, raise the barrier."

Steve passed Danni her badge back, watching as she casually put it round her neck before he drove forward into the base. Looking around him for the third car park. The place was swarming with personnel and vehicles all going about their work.

"Big place" Danni remarked.

"It's a good sized base" Steve confirmed. "Have you been on one before?" He asked her, surprised when she nodded at him.

"Once or twice" She answered. "There's no point in asking you whether you've been on one, that's like asking someone if the sun ever shines in Hawaii." She said with a grin. "There's the car park" She said, pointing towards it.

"I see it" He answered, hitting the indicator and pulling into the parking area, finding himself the first available space. He killed the engine and pushed open the door, climbing out into the warm air and slipped the key into his pocket looking around him. He slammed the door shut, ignoring Danni's glare at him over the roof before he spoke. "That must be the place" He said pointing to a large building. "Let's go"

"Lets" Danni replied, shouldering her bag and moving through the parked cars towards the building. Steve followed.

"So you never said what you were actually doing tomorrow? What are you cooking for?" He caught sight of the amused smile which came to Danni's face at his question but it was gone a second later when she spoke.

"Focus on the case McGarrett" She told him, stepping out of the parking lot. "How much do you want to bet that he's our guy right there?" She said nodding towards a man who was standing still outside the mess hall, nodding at the personnel as they saluted him.

"I think it's a safe bet to make" He responded, lightly gripping her elbow as they crossed the road. He heard her huff but ignored it, letting go of her as they approached the man who looked up at their arrival. He was medium height and built. Steve would have placed him in his early to mid fifties. His short grey hair was cut close to his skull and was receded while brown eyes looked at them both as he straightened.

"General Nathanson?" Steve asked as they stopped by him.

"You must be Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams" He stated, shaking their hands. "The check point rang through, walk with me. I'm due in a meeting." He told them, turning and headed past the mess hall towards some aircraft hangers. Steve shared a quick look with Danni before following him, Steve coming up on the man's right while Danni took the left so he was between them. "I understand that you're here to enquire about Roland Lowry?" He asked.

"That's correct sir" Steve responded. "I'm not sure whether you're aware but Lowry was kidnapped on his way to the base this morning."

"And you think that if you know why Lowry was coming here this morning that it might help you find out a motive behind the kidnapping?" Nathanson responded.

"Exactly" Danni said, "They were clearly after something and we doubt that it was just luck which made them go for him today. We believe that Lowry had something, something they didn't want him to pass over to anyone else."

"It makes sense" The General remarked. "Roland had become increasingly paranoid recently, more so then usual. He was firing off memos in the middle of the night to the join chief of staff which as you can imagine pissed off his superiors no end."

"His superiors?" Danni asked. "Was this when Lowry was still with the NSA or is he now working for someone else?" The General glanced at her.

"As far as I know Lowry only works for himself now. This however did begin when Lowry was still a special agent with the NSA" he confirmed. "It started maybe two years ago and then died out. We had thought that was the end of it but about a month ago the memos started up again."

"What were the memos about exactly?" Steve questioned.

"Roland was constantly telling us how vulnerable we were to attack. It was why he left Maryland to come to Hawaii. He didn't come here to retire like most people had assumed, he came here because he thought he could do the most good here."

"What do you mean he thought he could do the most good here?" Danni asked, her forehead furrowing slightly in confusion.

"Hawaii is in a strategic position in the global theatre. The United State Pacific commander is directly responsible for 150 million square which give or take means pretty much half the world. Why do you think that Pearl Harbour was the first place the Japanese struck in World War 2?"

"Because it would cripple American defences and attacks" Danni answered quietly. The General nodded.

"Exactly and nothing has changed since then, targeting Pearl Harbour would still be the best way of hurting American defence. It's why the security is at the top level."

"Is that why Lowry wanted to see you? Because he believed that we were vulnerable?" Steve asked, his stomach sinking when the General nodded at him.

"He told us that he was working on something which would prove what he had been trying to tell us for the past two years." Steve glanced round the man, meeting Danni's eyes and saw the same concern he was experiencing in her gaze. She looked away from him.

"Did he tell you what he was working on at all?" She asked crossing her arms over her stomach.

"I don't know what it was" The general responded. "Roland said that he didn't feel comfortable discussing it over the phone in case someone else was listening. He suggested that it would be better to meet in person and that he would bring along whatever it was he had been working on to give us."

"So what you're saying is that Roland had found out a threat to the island. One which he could prove to you?" Danni said.

"That was the gist of conversation as I read it. It was why I took the meeting. Paranoid or not Roland was still one of the best at what he did. If he said there was a threat then I believed him."

"It was why he was kidnapped" Steve said. The general looked at them both before he glanced down at his watch.

"It's likely" he agreed. "You'll both have to excuse me, I have to go. If there is anything else you need to know please get in contact" He stated, shaking their hands again before he moved away from them, rounding a corner and leaving them alone. Steve waited a second to make sure he was gone before he looked at Danni.

"He made the key" She said bluntly.

"Yeah and someone knew about it and got to him before he could hand it over to the military. Only someone who had access to Lowry could have known that."

Danni sighed, reaching up and pushing the hair from her eyes.

"The question now is why. Did they take him and the key because they wanted to sell the key to the highest bidder and earn themselves some money or did they take the key because they want to use it for something?" She asked sounding concerned.

"I don't know Danno but whatever the reason we better find it and find it fast."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read! I hope you enjoyed it.**

**An especially big thank you if you left me a review. They make all the hard work worth it **


	7. Chin's found something

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry, Natalie Reed and Meka Hanamoa do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**And here we are with chapter Seven**

**I'm sorry for the slight delay getting it to you. Life has been hectic recently and on top of that I haven't been well so I haven't been able to give it the time which I wanted to give it.**

**Strangely enough this is the chapter which has caused me the most problems out of all of them so far, probably because it's a filler chapter. The rest of the story will be fast paced but this one needed for some answers for questions mentioned in previous chapters, especially as those answers will be addressed later on in the story.**

**I've done this chapter from Danni's point of view but the next chapter, which for the record, will be an action chapter will belong to Steve.**

**There are some Steve and Danni moments in this chapter, they seem to be falling into this light-hearted banter with each other which seems to bordering on flirting at some points. Or at least it is in my eyes. I could be completely wrong after all and some other people might not view it that way. It be interesting to see.**

**Meka shows up in this chapter as well so it's been fun writing Meka and Danni and showing again that the two of them are close. **

**There is some foreshadowing in this chapter for future stories so keep an eye out for it, it be interesting to see if people spot it or not **

**Nothing more to say really accept I hope you all enjoy it enough to review **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve and Danni bounce ideas off of each other and get some answers**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Chin's found something

* * *

**27th September 2010**

**Hickham Air Force base**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Detective Danielle 'Danni' Williams Point of view

* * *

Danni breathed out nosily, watching as the General left them, men joining him instantly, talking to him and attracting his full attention, their previous conversation clearly. Her thoughts were racing round her head as she tried to figure out how the things he had told them fitted into the picture which was beginning to form in her head. The picture which told her that they were in a lot of trouble.

There was no doubt in her mind that Lowry had made the key which Jack had mentioned to them and that he had been kidnapped for that very reason. Lowry was clearly a man who couldn't let something go if it meant proving that he was right. He had gone and created the very thing which he had been scared of falling into the wrong hands just to prove that it could be done and then proved his theory right, when he was kidnapped so someone could have the key.

When they found Lowry she would have to resist the strong urge to shake the man for being such a blind fool.

The question now was why they wanted the key in the first place? Was it something to do with the military or was it something else? Jack had told them that it could be used to turn off certain things at a time. Certain things like the security on a bank vault, take down the alarm and they could slip in and out without being detected. The bank wouldn't even know they had been hit until it was too late for them to act. There were so many targets they could go for that Danni couldn't even think of them all, anything which was electrical was at risk.

She looked away, turning her gaze to Steve surprised to see him watching her, arms crossed over his chest with a waiting expression on his face.

"What's on your mind?" He asked her with a questioning look. Danni shrugged at him.

"A lot of things Steve and not all of it good" She replied "The more we're learning about this case, the more trouble we seem to be finding ourselves in. I'm not going to lie, these guys are more than one step ahead of us and I don't like it. If we don't catch a break soon then the changes of finding Lowry alive are slim to none. His kid has already lost his mother, to lose his father as well…" She stopped speaking with a shake of her head, her mind turning to Grace, taking comfort that at least her baby was safe at school, probably looking forward to lunch.

"We'll find something Danni" Steve told her "Chin and O'Connor are going through all the footage now from this morning so there's a chance that they will retrieve something. Even the best make mistakes sometimes." Danni couldn't stop the slight laugh which escaped as she looked at him.

"Are you saying you make mistakes?" She queried watching a smile come to his face.

"Are you saying I'm the best?" He countered with a raised eyebrow at her. Danni rolled her eyes.

"Let's get head back to the car" She suggested, ignoring his question "I think we've found out everything which we're going to find here" Steve nodded, still smirking as they turned and headed back the way they came.

"You'll call Meka from the car?" Steve asked.

"Yeah unless he's got a new case then he should be in the office, he likes getting his paperwork over and done with as fast as possible. I know he finished a case yesterday so we might strike it lucky, it will be harder for him to check if he's out of the office."

"And he'll tell you just like that?" Steve asked, a hint of curiosity to his voice.

"Hey" She said stopping and looking at him. "Meka is a good guy, he was my partner for six months and he was one of the only people who made life here bearable for me. He's not going to turn his back on me now. We made a promise to each other that we would always, always help each other out okay. Whether that by providing physical backup for each other or helping with each other cases then that is what we will do. If I ask him to help me then he will because that is what partners do okay?" She said to him.

"Yeah okay" Steve said, "I get it, Meka is going to help us out and get us the information" He replied, the slight wary tone to his voice causing her to relax as she shrugged at him.

"Actually he's going to help me out, you? You he doesn't like" She said simply, turning and heading over to the Camaro, she considered for a split second demanding her keys from him but instantly dismissed it, if she was going to be on the phone then it would be better for Steve to drive so she could turn her attention to everything else, sighing she moved to the passenger car, waiting for Steve to unlock the car before she pulled open the door rolling her eyes at the expression on Steve's face.

"Meka doesn't like me?" Steve demanded as he climbed into the driver's seat, sticking the key into the ignition though he didn't turn it. "Why doesn't he like me?"

Danni ignored him for a moment, fishing her phone out of her bag before she dropped it into the foot well. She sighed and turned to him.

"You really don't know the answer to that?" She asked him before she rolled her eyes, an action which she seemed to do a lot in Steve's presence. "You took his case away from him and then you took his partner so I'm guessing those right there are two reasons why you wouldn't be at the top of his best friend list"

"I'm a nice guy" Steve commented, turning the key in the ignition. "You like me" He stated turning to her. Danni looked at him, before she turned back to her phone, going through her contact address book trying to keep the smile off her face as she pressed on the number and brought the phone to her ear. "Danni?" Steve said. She held her finger up to him,

"O'Connor" The voice on the other end of the phone answered.

"Hey Jack? It's Danni, I need you to do me a favour, have you looked at the footage with the black Lincoln car yet?"

"Yeah I have actually, I'm just going through it now while Chin goes through the footage from this morning kidnapping." He answered her, a distracted tone to his voice as though he was only half listening to her.

"Did you see the car on the footage?" She asked him, aware of Steve turning in his seat to look at her.

"Yeah I did, Black Lincoln with black tinted windows just like McGarrett said." Jack answered.

"Okay could you read me the number plate number please?" she asked, grabbing a pen and paper from her bag and coming to a clean page.

"L52 5HO1" Jack said.

"Awesome, thanks for that Jack, we'll heading back to the headquarters so we'll see you and Chin soon" She told him, waiting for him to say goodbye before she hung up on him. Turning to Steve. "Jack's been through the footage and he found the car that was following us."

"Good" Steve said. Danni nodded, turning her attention back to their case.

"I think we can safely say that Lowry made the key that Jack told us about and that was why he was taken" She said to him, reaching up and grabbing her seatbelt, putting it on.

"Yeah which begs the question of how someone knew he was making the key. From what I've gathered from what O'Connor and the general said Lowry was paranoid, probably more so since he moved to Hawaii. We've seen his home, it was beefed up with every kind of security possible so either someone managed to hack into his feed without him realising which is unlikely or-"

"Or he told someone what he was doing and they betrayed him to the kidnappers" Danni finished for him, biting down on her lower lip thoughtfully, as she tapped her finger against the back of her phone. "Okay it's got to be the second option, like you said Lowry not knowing that he had been hack given his experience and his paranoia just doesn't make sense. Which means that there are only a few people he would have trusted enough to tell. We can rule Evan out straight away, he doesn't know anything. Lowry's family are on the mainland so that's them probably out of it which leaves us with two viable suspect who it could be. Either the girlfriend who seemed to have magically appeared in Lowry's life at the right time or-"

"The housekeeper who has been with him since he moved to Hawaii and who he clearly trusts enough to have live with them twenty four seven. It would be easy for her to slip back in after Lowry and Evan have gone to bed to look around the place, maybe she needed the extra money and someone approached her one day with an offer she couldn't refuse." Steve stated, reaching up and pulling at his lower lip. Danni nodded.

"There is someone else we haven't considered. What if Lowry confided in someone he knew from his NSA days? Someone who was on his original team who he thought he could trust? Like a partner or something. They would have known the implications about what he was doing and what it would actually mean. Maybe they got greedy and decided that they wanted it for themselves and then hired the kidnapping crew to take care of him and get what he wanted. It would be the perfect alibi for them. I mean how could you pin a kidnapping on someone who wasn't even on the island at the time that it went down? Especially if all records between them and the kidnappers were destroyed. I mean these are the security experts right? I assuming this sort of thing would be normal for them."

"So we need to investigate the team he had with him while he was still with the NSA and see whether he's been in contact with any of them recently, check their backgrounds, their bank accounts. We could hack into their emails as well and see if Lowry had contacted them that way as well."

Danni raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know getting that information won't be easy, you're talking about members of the NSA, hacking them isn't going to be a walk in the park you know"

"That's where having O'Connor on the case comes in handy" Steve replied, turning on the car and reversing out of the car park space. "We might not have the access to Lowry's old team but he certainly does. Call Chin and ask him to get Jack on him. As you said earlier, we have him for the case so we might as well make the most of having him and his database."

"Let me call Meka first and then I'll call Chin" She told him. "Are we heading back to headquarters? Because I'm pretty certain we would need to turn left for that" She remarked when he hit the indicator and turned right.

"I thought we could check out Lowry's house first and see what we could find there. We didn't get a chance to look around earlier" Steve replied. Danni nodded

"Okay sounds like a plan" She remarked, pressing down on the number two button and bringing the phone to her ear, tapping her finger against the back of the case, waiting for her former partner to answer her call. It rang five time before she heard the click followed by Meka's voice

"Detective Hanamoa"

"Hey Meka, its Danni look I…"

"Oh don't even think about it Danni. If you're ringing to cancel tomorrow then I'll kick your ass myself" He interrupted her. "Just no way Danni, Amy had been looking forward to this BBQ all week and I'm not going to be the one to tell her that you're pulling out. You can call her tonight and tell her yourself and then deal with the rant that will follow."

"Firstly it's nice to know that you have my back in everything" She commented with a shake of her head "And secondly your lack of faith in me is disturbing. I'm not ringing you to cancel okay? Me and my daughter will still be at your house tomorrow at ten like planned okay, we will have our swimming stuff and everything and we will be there for the day like planned. Now chill out before you burst a blood vessel okay?"

"Okay" Meka said with a big sigh. "Well that is a relief"

"I should warn you though that Gracie has asked me to judge your sandcastle building competition thing tomorrow so you better make sure it's damn impressive"

"Excuse you, I am beyond talented with sandcastles and you my friend will see that tomorrow, where is your faith in me?" He demanded "Anyway how are you? You've been with McGarrett for what five days now? How is it going with him? Is he any good?" He asked.

"Yeah he's fine" She replied, not looking towards Steve even though she could feel him looking at her. "But that's not why I'm calling you though, I'm calling because I need a favour from you if that's okay hon?" She asked, rolling her eyes when Meka made a sound of amusement over the line.

"Wait, wait, wait you want another favour?" He said "At this rate Danni girl I'm going to have to set up my own tally chart and start adding a mark every time you ask me for a favour. The way you're going you'll be the one to owe me a massive favour" he teased.

"Fine" She said with a shake of her head "If you do me this favour then I'll owe you a favour which you can cash in anytime you need to cash it in. Deal?" She offered. She could picture Meka's face in her mind as he considered her offer, probably weighing the pros and cons before he spoke.

"You know I'll always help you Danni girl, now what is it you need from me?" He asked her, the teasing note falling away from his voice to be replaced by a brisk tone.

"Thanks" She said "Have you heard anything about the Lowry case?" She asked him curiously.

"The Lowry case" He repeated thoughtfully before he made a sound at the back of his throat. "Yeah I have, he's the guy who was kidnapped off the street earlier, his bodyguards killed right? Your taskforces are the lead on it aren't you?"

"Yeah that's the one" Danni answered "There's a black Lincoln which has been following our victim son since it happened and I want to know whether this is the kidnappers making another sweep or whether…"

"It's Captain Hookano putting some of his men on it to keep in the loop with the case because of his bid for promotion" He finished for her.

"Exactly, I've got the licence plate number. I just need you to chat to some of the guys and see whether you can find out whether it is or not."

"What's the plate?" He asked her

"L52 5HO1" She repeated, glancing down at the pad she still held on her lap.

"It shouldn't be hard to find, give me ten minutes or so and I'll call you back with the answer"

"Thanks Meka, I appreciate it" She told him before she hung up and looked at Steve. "He's going to do some digging and get back to me with the answer on whether it is Hookano or not"

"Good work Danni" Steve said with a glance towards her before he glanced away as his own phone went off. "It's Chin" he said before he answered it with a brisk "McGarrett" Danni watched him as he listened to whatever it was that Chin was telling him. "Okay, I got it. Good work. We're actually near the headquarters so we'll swing by and pick you up on the way" He told the other man before he hung up on him.

"What has Chin found?" Danni questioned.

"He found one of the kidnappers from the footage. It looked like one of the bodyguards got a hit in and took him out though he didn't kill him. The film shows the guy getting up and escaping to the Hahiko hotel which is on Kalia Road. He's gone into it so he's probably holed up there, keeping out of the way until one of his buddy comes for him."

"Our first break" She said clapping her hands together before she reached into her bag and pulled out a thigh holster, glancing around her as she tied it on. "Eyes on the road" She told him when she realised that he was looking at her, his eyes flickering between the road and her.

"Really?" He said "Would it not be easier to just change out of the dress?" He asked her.

"I'll have you know that I have taken more than my fair share of guys down in a dress and besides we don't have time for me to go and change, did you not hear me when I said this guy was our first break? I'm not losing him" She said checking her spare gun before she put into the holster, pulling out her primary gun from her bag and checking it.

"Who keeps their gun in their bag?" Steve demanded as he pulled into the Aliiolani Hale car park.

"I do, or I keep one gun there" She answered. "There's Chin and Jack" she said, nodding towards the door as it opened revealing the two men, both of them with their guns.

"What's going on here? What's O'Connor doing here?" Steve demanded, turning his attention away from her as he looked out of the driver's window.

"Well it looks like Chin is getting on his motorbike and Jack into his rental and I'm assuming they are coming with us to get this guy" Danni answered "The more the merrier I say, Jack is an active agent so he's going to know how his gun works, Kono isn't here so let's just accept his unspoken offer from help and get to the hotel before the guy finds the energy to get his ass up and escape because if he escapes us then we really are screwed" She said "Steve" She said touching his arm and attracting his attention. "Drive or get out and let me drive but go"

Steve nodded at her before he turned and headed out of the car park with Chin and Jack on his tail.

Danni breathed out, biting down on her lip before she reached up and flipped down the passenger screen and stared at the picture of Grace. It was one of her favourite ones. Taken a month ago in their back garden. Her daughter looked so happy in it, grinning away at her.

"What's that?" Steve asked her attracting her attention.

"A picture of Grace" Danni said with a shrug. "I like looking at it and the other one before I go into situations where I know I'm going to be shot at, you know just something to remind me why I do this and who I'm protecting. It calms me down" She answered.

"That's… that's actually kind of sweet" He said a note to his voice that she couldn't quit read properly

"You sound surprised?" She commented, looking back at the photo, eyes lingering over it before she lifted the mirror back up, focusing her attention out of the window.

"Actually no I'm not surprised" He said. Danni glanced at him before she shrugged and fell silent until her phone rang.

"Williams"

"Danni? It's Meka. I've had a check and the car belongs to Detective Iona. Looks like your theory about being trailed by Hookano was right."

"Okay well thanks for checking Meka, I'll see you tomorrow. Take care hon" She said to him before she hung up and spoke, looking out of the window. "Meka says that the Black Lincoln belongs to Detective Iona so Hookano did put someone on Evan" She told Steve, glancing out the corner of her eye in time to see Steve's hands tighten on the steering wheel.

"We'll deal with him later, we've got more important things to deal with now" He said

"Yes… yes we do Steve"

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read the chapter, an especially big thank you if you left a review or decided to follow it or make it into a favourite. It means a lot to me.**


	8. It's time to wake up fella

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry and ****Sergei** **Ivanovich**** do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Chapter eight here already!**

**So I decided just to whack this chapter out because I was just in the mood to write it to be honest with you. I decided as well to write this particular chapter from Chin's point of view just because I thought it might be interesting to get an outside view of Steve and Danni and also just to get Chin's perspective on everything, including his thoughts of being in the taskforce and doing police work again.**

**Danni obviously reacts differently to Danny on the rooftop but that's because it seems to be the way she deals with things. I think it's safe to say though that she's not happy though and I'm sure Steve will get the full force of that next chapter when they are next in the car.**

**I've put Jack in this chapter just because it made sense for me to put him in, he's on the case, he's technically working with Chin at the moment and 50 are a man down with Kono with Natalie Reed and Evan so it seemed normal for Jack to be there to give them that extra person. I like to point out that I haven't forgotten about Kono either, she just doesn't come up in this chapter because their attention if fixed on the here and now and finding this guy before he escapes them.**

**I think it's safe to say that we will see a difference in Steve's and Danni's method of working and dealing with suspects here.**

**I might start on the next chapter today so you might get lucky and get another chapter within the next few days. I know that this story isn't greatly popular but I'm still going to finish it. I'll be pleased just to get 50 reviews so keep your fingers crossed for me that I reach that target**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

"**Steve what are you doing?"**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Eight

It's time to wake up Fella

* * *

Chin Ho Kelly's point of view

* * *

Chin breathed out loud as he followed Danni's silver Camaro out of the Aliiolani Hale car park, towards the Hahiko hotel which was about five minutes away from where they were. He focused his mind on the scene which would meet them, his mind mentally going through the blue print which he had studied of the hotel, picking out the best places where the kidnapper might have chosen to heal. He would pick somewhere quiet, somewhere where the chances of people coming across him would be next to none. He would be weak, losing blood and possibly unconscious now which made catching him important. The last thing they needed was their only lead dying on them before they could question him, this guy whoever he was, was still the only viable link they had to Roland Lowry's current location.

He found it strange being back on the force, chasing down suspects, looking through CTV footage, looking for gun permits and trying to link them to ongoing or cold cases. He hadn't realised how much he had missed the action and the job until he had stepped into the headquarters to the taskforce with Steve and Danni and been given his first command form his new boss. That was when it had suddenly sank in for him. He had a badge again, he was back in the one job which he had always loved with a team who actually seemed to trust him.

Having his former partner's son as his boss was strange to take in as well. Chin had known Steve when he had been a simple kid going through high school dealing with the same problems which most teenagers seemed to experience. He had watched his own football records be broken by Steve and then suddenly he and his younger sister Mary had been gone. Chin had asked John McGarrett about it a few times but he had never answered him, deflecting attention away from him so Chin had dropped it. He had known that Steve had gone to live with John's younger brother but that was all he knew. He had occasionally thought about him and his sister but then his own life had exploded, IA had been after him, his career had been destroyed, he had broken up with his fiancé and the McGarrett siblings had disappeared from his mind.

He had been a surprise though to see Steve standing at Pearl Harbour looking around him, dressed in his navy blues and looking every inch the tough navy Seal which he had become. They had talked and Steve had seemed genuinely pleased to see him before he had turned and left, a focused look on his face which had made Chin wonder what he had been thinking, he had assumed that he had been pissed off when Chin had told him that a Haole female Detective was in charge of his father's murder investigation. An idea which was cemented when he had seen Steve at his father's funeral.

What he hadn't expected was for Steve to turn up at his work with the same Haole female Detective in toll and be told that the Governor of Hawaii had given Steve his own taskforce to run and that Steve had made Danielle Williams his partner. The same Detective who Steve had been pissed off with being on the case in the first place. There had been no sign of that from what he had seen that day. They had seemed strangely united, as though they had worked together for a while rather than just a few hours, bouncing ideas off of each other, taking care of each other and then Steve had offered Chin his life back with just a few spoken words.

Chin had instantly accepted the offer, anything would be better than the life he was living at the moment but he hadn't been sure that they would work and yet somehow they had. Steve and Danni had listened to him, accepted his suggestion of his cousin Kono for the taskforce and they had gone forward. Five days together had strengthened them to the point that Chin knew that they were there to stay, he didn't know why he knew it but he did.

He pulled his Harley Davidson to a stop beside the Camaro, kicking out the kick starter and climbed off of it, his eyes moving around taking in the scene, people were coming and going looking normal and relaxed. He turned as Danni came out of the passenger seat and moved to the back of the car opening up the trunk, he watched her move some things around before she pulled out a tactical vest, whistling softly to Steve and throwing it over to him when he glanced over at him. She pulled out another one which she put on, strapping it tightly to her torso before she pulled a black cardigan over the top it hiding the majority of it from view. She glanced around, slamming the trunk down before she moved towards Steve who had put his own vest on. Chin turned to look at Jack as the NSA agent spoke.

"We ready to go?" He asked, gun in hand, a serious look on his face as his eyes flickered between them before he looked at the building.

"Move out" Steve answered in response, moving through the sparse crowd into the main foyer area. "Chin what have we got?" Steve demanded, looking briefly over his shoulder at Chin who shrugged at him, already used to Steve's demanding tone when they were running an operation.

"According to the Hotel security cameras which Jack hacked, the guy came through this way and headed up in this elevator" He answered, hitting his hand lightly against one of the elevators to indicate which one he meant.

"Why did he come here of all places?" Jack remarked. "This is a popular hotel with a lot of foot traffic, a lot of potential witnesses who could ID him if they saw him."

"He probably didn't have much choice in the matter" Danni answered him, keeping her gun low to her side so that she didn't alarm any of the tourists who were still passing them, shooting the four of them curious looks. "He was injured in the battle, so he's hurt and he's bleeding and he knows that going to the local hospital is out of the question because he needs to keep under the radar. This probably seemed the quickest and easiest place for him to come in his state so he could hide out and try and deal with his wound. Maybe he's expecting his fellow kidnappers to come to him later on and give him some supplies or something." She said looking around at them.

"I got blood on the button here, he definitely went up" Steve said, using the tip of his gun to hit the button. Chin nodded, stepping back at the elevators doors by him slid open. He moved in instantly, the others following him, only noticing at the last moment that there was a family in the lift. "He's on the thirty six floor" Steve said, an intense look on his face which Chin had only seen once or twice in the past. He moved back as the family suddenly surged forward, the fact that they were now sharing a lift with four armed individuals in tactical vests clearly sinking in but they were too late, the doors slid shut before they could escape into the lobby.

Chin glanced towards Danni as she sighed, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck as though it was aching. She twisted her head, sharing a quick look with him before she looked past him giving the frightened family a reassuring smile. She opened her mouth as though she was going to say something to them but stopped when the sudden sharp sound of someone checking their clip broke the heavy tension in the elevator. They all turned to Steve who ignored them, his body tense as he tilted his head back watching the floor buttons slowly move.

Danni moved pressing a floor button before the thirty sixth floor, giving the family another smile before she turned to Steve and spoke, an undercurrent of disbelief to her voice.

"Steven" she said. Chin leaned back against the wall, watching the pair of them carefully, surprised when Steve immediately turned to look at Danni, a questioning look on his face. She looked at him for a moment before she looked away and gave the family a pointed look, her gaze lingering on the small boy who was being cocooned between his parents, Chin watched Steve's eyes following the direction of her look for a moment before she spoke again to him, her soft voice lowering into a murmur. "Put the gun down" She told him. Chin raised an eyebrow when Steve straightened, bringing the gun to his side. He looked back at the parents.

"We're cops" Steve said to them abruptly as though that explained everything to them. A slight smile came to Chin's face when he heard Danni sigh again before she turned to the parents, Chin ducked his head, hiding a smile as he caught the looks the parents were shooting Steve before Danni spoke to them.

"I'm sorry about this but we'll soon be at the twenty first floor and you can get off there and make your way down in another elevator to the lobby." She stated, softening the words with a warm smile before she turned her attention to the boy with them, hunching down so she was on the same level at him and speaking to him. "Hiya, I'm Danni. Can I ask you a question?" She said, waiting until he nodded at her before she spoke again "Do you like hippos because I can't help but notice your hippo swimming ring. It's a very good hippo ring" She told him.

The boy nodded at her, his dark eyes flickering up to his parents before he looked back at her.

"I like hippos a lot" He said, moving his arms out as though trying to show her how much he loved hippos.

"You know I have a daughter, maybe a year older than you and she loves hippos' especially blue and purple hippos. Do you have any other hippo toys?" she questioned. The boy's wide eyed look disappeared into a grin that seemed to take over his entire face.

"Lots and lots" He replied.

"You can never have enough hippos" She replied seriously as though the conversation was the most important conversation in the world. Chin watched as Danni stood back up and looked towards the parents again. "Everything is going to be okay, you have my word" She told them, stepping back as the door slid open. The family moved forward again, the father looking at Danni and nodding at her once before they disappeared the door closing behind leaving the four of them in the elevator.

"You're a mother" Jack commented, glancing towards Danni. She glanced at him and nodded at him once.

"I am" She answered, "You? Are you a father?" She questioned. Chin looked towards the agent as he nodded at her, bringing his gun up as he looked at the numbers above the door.

"Two little girls" He replied. Danni nodded before she looked at Steve, poking him in the back.

"What was that exactly?" She asked him, a tone of curiosity to her voice as her eyes searched his face when he turned to look at her. "Were you trying to scare that kid to death? You my friend have a lot to learn before you meet my baby." She stated with a shake of his head. Chin smirked, shaking his head at the look which came to Steve's face at Danni's words. He looked outraged and confused but before he could say anything the doors opened and the expression which Chin silently referred to as his crazy SEAL face slammed back over his features.

"Move out" He told them, heading out the lift, his gun up as he swung side to side checking for the man they were hunting. Chin's mind switched effortlessly to work mode, moving behind Steve, covering him with his own gun, they moved down the corridor, stopping at the end of it. Steve pointed at himself and Chin, moving his fingers to the left before he pointed at Danni and Jack and indicated to the right. They moved, not needing words to follow his orders. Chin followed Steve moving down the left, his eyes moving side to side checking everything.

"Here, this way!"

Chin turned at the sound of Danni's voice heading back down the corridor, he glanced to the side as Steve overtook him, watching Jack and Danni kick open the door, covering each other easily.

"Clear" Jack called out.

"Clear as well" Danni said, disappearing from sight. Chin quickened his pace following them through the doorway and glancing round the stairwell. "There's blood here, he's gone to the roof" She said moving up the stairs, gun steady in her hand. Chin glanced as Steve moved after his partner before he looked at Jack who nodded at him and moved as well. He turned the corner just as Danni kicked the roof door open, stepping back and allowing Steve past before she followed him. Chin squinted in the bright sunlight as he followed them out, looking round him, searching for the body.

"Here, I got him" Steve called out, attracting their attention. Chin turned and jogged over to Steve, watching as the younger man warily moved round something. He moved nearer, his gaze falling to the ground where a tall man lay on the gravel, his black shirt pulled off his shoulder, revealing a bloody bullet entry hole.

"Is he dead?" Danni asked, looking down at the body, an unreadable look on her face.

"He's still breathing" Jack answered.

"Chin" Steve said, glancing up at him. Chin nodded at him, bringing his weapon up and pointed it at the man's chest, his hand on the trigger ready to pull it if he made any sudden movements. Steve looked away from him, leaning down and placed two fingers against the man's throat over his pulse point.

"He's alive for now" He confirmed, standing straight now.

"What do you want to do now?" Jack asked "Bring him into your headquarters for questioning?" Chin glanced towards him as Danni spoke.

"He needs medical treatment" She pointed out quietly glancing at them all. Chin looked towards Steve.

"Steve what do you want to do?" He asked repeating Jack's questions.

"Put him against the wall sitting up" Steve told them, looking around him "O'Connor grab the other side of him" Steve said, reaching down and grabbing one of his arms. "Chin get the hose from over there and bring it over to him. It's time we woke our sleeping princess up" He said. Jack nodded at him, grabbing the other arm and they dragged him over. Chin moved over to the hose and pulled it off, bringing it over to them. He glanced towards Danni but she seemed content to just see what Steve had planned. Chin brought the hose to Steve who took it. "Danni" Steve called out to his partner "turn the tap on" He said, Danni nodded at them moving over and doing as she was asked. There was a brief second where nothing happened before water spurted out of the hose, straight into the man's face. He flinched at the contact, moving his face side to side as though he was trying to escape it, a groan escaping him as he reached up and covered his wound. Blue eyes squinting up at them. The water turned off and Danni joined them.

"Hi" She commented, moving between Steve and Jack. "Did you enjoy your nap fella? I don't suppose you fancy making our lives easier and just telling us who you are and how you ended up on this rooftop with a bullet wound in your arm, in the blazing sunshine?" She asked, a casual tone to her voice as she crossed her arm over her chest. The man blinked up at her in confusion, his gaze focusing sharply on her, head tilting slightly to the side as though he was studying her.

"Hey" Chin said, stepping forward aggressively when he recognised the look in the other man's eyes. He had seen that expression several times before. "The lady here asked you a question, the polite thing to do would to answer her question."

The man remained silent, his eyes flickering over them all, clearly sizing them all up before he focused back on Danni.

"Where is Roland Lowry? What do you want with him?" Steve demanded, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees, an unreadable look on his face as he waited for an answer. The man on the floor ignored his questions, coughing, his hand still clutching at his wound which was still oozing blood. Danni was right, the man certainly needed medical care eventually.

He glanced to the side in time to see Danni tilt her head to the left before she reached out and touched Steve on the shoulder to attract his attention. The pair shared a quick look before she let go, taking a step forward. She hunched down by the man, just out of his reach and spoke, clearly aware of Steve moving into position behind her, giving her cover.

"Hey" She said "I see you've been shot in the arm. That looks a pretty nasty wound. It's been exposed to the elements for what pushing on two, two and a half hours now right? That can't be good for it at all and it's certainly not going to get better up here. I guess you chose this place to hide out because the other people in your crew told you to go here right? Maybe you all had a discussion before this morning's kidnapping where you chose a place to go in case anything went wrong. Did they promise to bring you medical supplies?" She questioned softly, her voice coming across as sympathetic as though she really cared. Chin watched as the man shifted on the ground, his gaze going to his wound for a moment before he looked back at Danni just as she started speaking again. "Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you fella but I don't think the others are coming. You're injured now, you're a liability who will simply slow them down. They are probably hoping that the wound kills you and you know it might do that if you don't get it checked out. Bacteria has already entered the wound which means that it's infected and that has to be causing you pain. If that same bacteria gets into your blood stream then you'll be in big trouble because the poison will travel round the body. You'll end up with sepsis and organ failure, they'll take our your kidneys and dying will seem like a sweet release after all that pain you'd experience but if you just tell me what your name is then I'll get you to a hospital and they can treat you and you can get better. Is it really worth dying for your friends? The same friends who have abandoned you? Perhaps it's time for you to start thinking about yourself instead" She suggested.

The man swallowed hard, looking at her, his eyes moving rapidly from side to side as though he was briefly considering what she had said to him.

Chin looked up from Danni, his eyes focusing on Steve who was moving behind his partner like a caged animal before stopped directly behind her.

"Danno" He murmured to her, gripping the back of her vest and tugging at it. Chin watched as Danni shot him a confused look before she did what he asked, she shot the guy one more glance before she stood up, smoothing her skirt down and stepped back letting Steve take her place. "Chin" Steve said, "Hold him down" He commanded coldly. Chin blinked in surprise at the command.

"Steve what are you doing?" Danni asked him, an undercurrent of what sounded like concern and suspicion to her voice.

"Chin" Steve said, ignoring Danni's question. Chin moved, restraining the man as Steve came down to the other side of him, grabbing the man's wrist and forcing it to the wound on his shoulder, he separated the thumb pushing it into the blood, rolling it around before he looked up at Chin, a chilly impassive look in his eyes as he ignored the man's yells of pain. "Give me a piece of paper" He demanded.

Chin reached into his pocket and passed Steve his notebook

"There" He said, watching as the younger man selected a clean page and fingerprinted the subject.

"O'Connor run that print against your database" He said, passing the notebook to Jack who took it, his eyes moving between them before he moved away, taking his phone out of his pocket, snapping a picture of the fingerprint with it and calling someone. Chin's eyes flickered to Danni who was watching the scene, an unreadable look on her face. "Come with me fella" Steve said suddenly, hauling the man to his feet and pushing him to the edge of the building. Chin came to his feet just as Steve shoved the man off of the roof, grabbing his legs at the last minute so he was left hanging off of the building with only Steve keeping him up. He heard Danni gasp next to him before she was moving across the roof, stopping by Steve staring at him. Chin moved closer so he could help her if the need arose. He expected her to scream the place down at Steve but instead she spoke coldly, her voice almost unrecognisable from the one he was used to hearing her use on a daily basis.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" She demanded. "This is not the way we do this Steve. Get him up right now before you kill him."

"You want to play fella? Then let's play" Steve called out to the man, ignoring Danni as though she had remained silent.

"Steve this is not the navy or Guantanamo Bay, you can't hang a man off the roof because you feel like it, especially not when the man is a suspect in an ongoing case. Pull him back up" Danni said, her voice sounding icier by the minute, Chin watched as she reached towards Steve, stopping last minute as though she was worried her touch might cause Steve to drop the suspect to his death.

"All I'd have to say to people is that you came at me with a gun and we struggled and then you tragically fell off of the roof. What do you think of that huh? You think anyone will believe it happened any differently?" Steve taunted "Do you think anyone would care if you died? You just killed two innocent men who were just doing their jobs. I'd be doing the world a favour if I let go of you right now."

"Steve" Chin called out, stopping when Danni spoke over him, her voice turning calm and rational as though she was trying to talk someone out of killing themselves.

"Please listen to me. We need this man alive remember? Alive. Please think of Evan, he's terrified that he's never going to see his father alive again and he's counting on us to find him. This is the only man who can point us in the right direction of finding him but we won't be able to find Lowry if we can't talk to him. You've made your point okay, you've scared the shit out of him so enough. This isn't what we do, it isn't what you do anymore."

Chin watched as Danni's words finally seemed to sink into Steve's head. He turned to her, looking at her intently though she remained silent, an expressionless look on her face which somehow conveyed her displeasure more clearly than if she had been yelling at Steve, something which Steve seemed to figure out at the same time as Chin.

"Hey guys, I've got a hit from the Interpol database so you can stop dangling your only lead over the roof now. You don't need to make him talk anymore, his record will talk for him" Jack called out, turning back to them, waving his mobile at them, a pleased look on his face.

Chin glanced back at time to see Danni turn back to Steve.

"Get him up now" She told him. Her voice quiet as she leaned over the roof and grabbed at the man's arm, tugging at it in an attempt to drag him back over the wall. Steve seemed to finally get the hint, stepping back from it and dragging the guy back over the wall letting him drop to the ground with a thud. Chin saw Steve glanced towards Danni but she ignored him, moving towards Jack. "You say you got a hit? What is his name then?" She asked the other blonde, her voice warming up slightly though she still sounded controlled.

"The guy's name is Sergei Ivanovich, he's a Serbian national with a rap sheet a mile long. Looks like he's part of a gang who mostly pull bank jobs and jewellery heists all over the place. You know smash and grabs stuff."

"So they are thieves then?" Chin remarked with a nod which Jack returned.

"So it would seem" He confirmed.

"Yeah but thieves normally stick to taking material possessions not people." Danni pointed out.

"Well it looks like they decided to upgrade from that to kidnapping" Chin said, sharing a look with Danni who nodded at him, looking disturbed at the news Jack had given them.

"Or maybe they knew what Roland wanted to show the General today and they decided that they wanted to get their hands on it instead, it would explain why they struck today, if they didn't then they wouldn't get the chance again." Steve said, Chin raised an eyebrow as Danni opened her mouth as though she was going to add something to what Steve had said but she closed it instead. Chin looked towards Steve as he continued speaking. "Chin, Jack take this guy to the office and throw him in a hole then I want you to run a deep background on him. Find out when he got on the island, what he's been doing here since he arrived and who his known associates are? I want everything possible on him. Got it?" He questioned, looking at them both.

"I got it Steve" Chin answered, glancing towards Jack who nodded at him, stepping past him and heading over to Sergei who he dragged to his feet, handcuffing his hands behinds his back. "What are you going to go?" He asked Steve who glanced at Danni, his eyes searching her face though she didn't look back.

"We're going to go and see Roland's house and see whether he can get confirmation that Roland made the key and that was what they were after." Steve answered him.

Chin opened his mouth to speak stopping when Danni turned and headed away from them all towards the roof door, disappearing through it. Steve looked after her with a frown before he turned and followed her.

He turned to look at Jack who silently whistled at him, raising an eyebrow at him.

Chin nodded looking back to the door, suddenly extremely glad that he wasn't Steve at that moment in time.

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Author Note

**Many thanks for taking the time to read and an especially big thank you if you've taken the time to read.**


	9. What do you want me to say?

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry, Natalie Reed and Brigadier General Sam Nathanson do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**So here's chapter nine!**

**Firstly I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to review this story and who have gotten me up to 50 reviews. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I never thought the Danni saga would be successful or that people would give it a go****, it makes me very happy and when I'm happy it just makes me want to write more and more.**

**So here we have the famous chapter in the car. I don't know whether Steve and Danni's will have carguments like they have in the show but I think they will have their own versions of it. Danni is a calm individual, keeping all her fire and passion hidden away especially when it comes to strangers, the more comfortable she gets with the other members of the taskforce, the more they'll see more and more of her personality.**

**I know a few people want Steve and Danni to get together and they will but I don't believe that it's the right time for them yet. Not when they both have so many issues still. Steve's father was murdered only eight days before this story, he's left the job he's been in since he had been in his early twenties, left his way of life and started a new one, he's back at a place that he hasn't been in since he was fifteen. He might be fascinated with his new partner, he might find her attractive but I don't think he's ready to jump into a new relationship not even with Danni, at least not yet.**

**Lots of flirting will happen but most likely in later chapters **

**I've also added a scene with Grace mainly because I love writing Danni and Grace scenes, there's something about the two of them together which warms my heart each time I write them together.**

**There will also be plenty of moments between Chin and Danni coming up as well.**

**Anyway I guess that's all I have to say for the moment so please enjoy**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**The aftermath of the roof incident**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Nine

What co you want me to say?

* * *

**Hahiko hotel**

**Kalia Road**

**Honolulu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Detective Danielle 'Danni' Williams point of view

* * *

Danni moved down the concrete stairs, gripping the cold bannister with one hand as she focused her attention of her breathing, attempting to keep it steady and keep her growing anger in check. Blowing up at her partner at that moment in time wouldn't do her any good, if she did what she wanted to do then he would probably just give her that searching look he gave her when he didn't understand why she was reacting the way she was reacting.

What she needed was space, space to wrap her head around what she had just seen and been a party to up on the roof. She needed space to try and control her emotions but it was difficult. She had been brought up in a household where she and her siblings had been taught to speak the truth at all-time regardless of the issues and consequences that might arise from it. It was a lesson which often was in conflict with her job, after the first few months of her job she had realises that keeping silent was a better way of doing things, at least until she knew the people better.

It would be better for her to remain quiet until she knew how to control herself. Once she had accomplished that then she could proceed with talking to Steve and trying to make him see that he couldn't do what he just did and expect to get away with it. Immunities and means didn't mean that they could take the law into their own hands and bend it to suit their will. They couldn't just go in guns blazing every time and shoot whoever they felt like shooting or threaten suspects. Danni was a police Detective, she had sworn an oath in front of her family and her peers, an oath made to God to protect the law and the people with her own life if need be. She was pretty positive that her oath didn't include holding a suspect off of the side of a tall thirty seven storey building until they gave her the answers which she wanted to hear.

Danni's methods had always worked in the past regardless of what case she found herself confronted with and she was positive that it would have worked on Ivanovich as well if Steve had just given her the time which she had needed to do what she did best instead of getting impatient. She knew that time was of the essence with a kidnapping case but he could have at least afforded her ten minutes with the guy before resorting to his own methods.

She could hear the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs behind her but she ignored them as she threw open the fire escape door which led back onto the thirty sixth floor. She glanced round the empty corridor, clicking the safety on her gun before she slipped her weapon into the gap where her tactical vest was secured and breathed out nosily, shaking her head as she wondered whether any case they did would just be straight forward.

She moved through the hallway, heading down it until she reached the elevator and jabbed at the call button. She breathed a sigh of a relief when the door slid open almost instantly. She stepped inside and for a moment considered letting the door close behind her but she didn't, instead sticking her hand in the motion sensor keeping them open for the others to join her. She kept her gaze fixed ahead as Steve entered the elevator after her, casting her a quick look which she ignored. He seemed puzzled as though he was aware that there was something up with her and that it might have something to do with him but had no idea what it might be. She saw him open and close his mouth repeatedly as though he was going to say something to her and was trying to decide the best way of phrasing it. Danni glanced at him.

"Don't, just don't" She told him quietly before she looked back to the front as Chin and Jack arrived holding Ivanovich between them.

"Thanks for holding the lift" Jack said, Danni glanced over her shoulder at him, giving him a smile as she pressed the button for the ground floor.

Her eyes flickered from Jack and focused on Ivanovich, searching his features carefully. His colour looked almost greyish under the bright light in the lift, the skin clammy and his eyes flickering side to side as though he was having trouble in focusing and keeping them open. She frowned, noticing that Chin and Jack were supporting most of his weight between them. If they hadn't been holding him up then he would probably be on the floor. She glanced away to the numbers above the lift, cursing the fact that she didn't bring her bag in with her. The same bag which had a small medical kit in it now. She spoke, attracting the others gaze to her.

"Does anyone have anything on them which I can use to tie his arm up before he bleeds out on us?" She asked them. She watched as the three men turned to look at each other before Steve spoke.

"Here" He said, reaching into one of his cargo pants and pulling out some bandages, holding them out to Danni. She nodded at him, reaching out and taking them from him before she turned round in the lift and moved to Ivanovich, stopping in front of him. She looked at Chin and Jack who both nodded at her telling her without words that they had her back. Jack moved out of the way so she could reach Ivanovich's injury while Chin tightened his hold on the other arm, holding the man in place. Danni heard movement behind her and assumed that Steve had moved to cover her just in case Ivanovich reacted.

"I know you understand English" she said, directing her comment to the prisoner who looked up at the sound of her voice, cold watchful eyes focusing on her again. "I'm just going to bandage your arm up before you bleed out so don't do anything stupid, it's not worth it at this point" She said, moving to his side where Jack had been. She quickly wrapped it around his arm, ignoring his hiss of pain and secured it tightly. She looked at it and nodded, satisfied with the quick job before she moved away from him, letting Jack take her spot again. "Chin" She said, turning to the older man "Make sure that you get him some medical attention when you get back to headquarters. His arms looks infected and we're not going to get anything from him if he's in a coma or dead from blood poisoning" She pointed out.

"Not a problem Danni" Chin said with a nod, looking at the bandage on Ivanovich's arm before he looked back at her. "I know first aid, I'll see what I can do with his arm, if I can't do anything then I'll take him to Kings and get someone to deal with him there."

"Good, thank you Chin" She said with a nod at him, turning and stepping out of the lift into the main lobby area and ignoring the wide eyes stares which they received from the tourist milling around, who probably weren't used to seeing a man being hauled out of the hotel they were staying with. Danni pushed open the door, blinking in the bright sunlight before she headed over to her Camaro, taking off the cardigan which she had used to blend in more during the take down. She came to the back of the car, remaining silent before she heard the click of the lock indicating that it was now open. She pulled open the trunk, taking the gun out and resting it in the trunk as she unstrapped her tactical vest. She was aware of Steve doing the same thing next to her but she kept quiet. Her anger was still there, burning away in the pit of her stomach. She considered taking her keys away from Steve but she knew it wouldn't be a good idea in her current mood, she'd probably end up breaking every speed limit Hawaii had if she got behind the wheel now.

Instead she moved round to the passenger side of her car, watching over her shoulder as Jack threw the suspect into the back of his rental, slamming the door behind him before he moved to the driver's seat and nodded at her. She nodded back before she turned her attention to Chin, smiling at him as he climbed onto his bike, she sighed pulling open her door and climbed in, closing it behind her. It was hot in the car so the minute Steve turned the key in the ignition, she leaned forward and turned the air con on. She watched from the corner of her eyes as Steve looked towards her but instead of looking towards him, she focused her attention on her bag instead, pulling it up and grabbing her mobile from it. She looked at the screen, her eyebrow raising when she saw that there was a miscall from Grace on it. Danni smiled, glancing at her watch to check the time before she hit the recall button bringing the phone to her ear.

"Who are you calling?" Steve asked, breaking the silence between them as he turned the steering wheel to the right, following Jack's car out of the hotel car park and onto the main road, turning to the right. Danni glanced at him, meeting his eyes for a moment before she turned away, waiting for the phone to be picked up. She was about to give up when there was a click followed by the sound of her daughter's voice.

"Hello Mamma" Grace said happily to her. Danni smiled, feeling some of the anger in her stomach disperse. She rolled her shoulder back slightly trying to relieve the tension before she spoke.

"Hello Gracie-Bean" She said softly, her hand tightening on the handset. "I'm sorry I missed your call baby, I was busy with work. Is everything okay? Are you still on your morning break?" She asked aware of Steve still watching her.

"Yep we've got five more minutes to go until we've got to go back into class. I've got maths next" Danni smiled at the disgusted tone which came to Grace's voice.

"Hey, I know you hate maths baby but it's important" She pointed out, her smile widening when she heard Grace sigh loudly. "Other than having the dreaded maths lesson next, are you having a good day? Have you eaten the fruit salad I made you yet or are you saving it to have with your sandwiches at lunch time?" She questioned.

"Saving it" Grace replied "But I have had the apple you packed and it was really nice. Can we go and get some more after school today?" She asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not, I'm getting you at three as usual so we could go straight to the market and get some more and I was thinking Gracie, since it's Friday today do you want to go to the cinema tonight? I remember you saying that there was a new Disney which had just come out right? We could go and see it and treat ourselves to a big tub of popcorn. If there's a showing at about five then we'd be out about six thirty and maybe just maybe I'll make you some homemade pizza, just the way you like it" She said, grinning when Grace made a small squealing sound, the same sound she had always made since she was a baby when something she was happy or excited about had happened.

"Sweet popcorn Mamma?" She asked eagerly.

"Sweet popcorn is fine by me" Danni answered, staring out the window at the passing scenery.

"There' a showing at four thirty mamma, could we go to that one?" Grace questioned.

"Four thirty would be perfect, how do you know there's a showing then though?" She asked her daughter curiously.

"My friend Janie is going with her mummy and sister as well today and she told me about it this morning. Maybe we could go with Janie?" Grace suggested.

"Maybe we could" Danni said "I've got to go now baby so I'll see you after school. Be good, enjoy your lessons and make sure that you eat your lunch okay, don't worry so much about the fruit salad if you get full up, you can always eat that later at the cinema. I made you ham and cheese sandwiches. I love you to the moon and back Gracie bean"

"I love you too mamma." Grace replied, blowing her a kiss down the phone. "Bye."

"Bye" Danni replied before she hung up the phone still smiling. She checked her messages seeing one from Kono giving her Natalie Reed's address and telling her that they had arrived. Danni fired her back a text asking the younger girl how it was going and filling her in on what had happened on their end of things before she put her phone back in her bag and stared out of the window, wondering whether she would need to book two tickets for the cinema or whether they could just turn up and pick a seat. Neither of them had actually gone to the cinema since they had been in Hawaii. She glanced at Steve when he cleared his throat.

"Is Grace okay?" He asked her.

"She's fine" Danni replied turning back to stare out the window. She heard Steve breathe out next to her before he finally spoke.

"I wasn't going to kill the suspect Danni, I had complete control of the situation at all times. There was no way he would have fallen, I wouldn't have allowed it" He told her. Danni glanced back towards him, meeting his eyes for a moment before she looked at the window screen. "Danni will you talk to me, you're being… you're being childish with your silent treatment." He complained.

Danni turned on her seat so she was facing him, remaining quiet as she searched his face, taking in his frustrated expression, she could detect the slightest hint of concern in the hazel eyes which kept flickering between the road and herself. He held himself tensely as though he was waiting for a blow of some kind to be delivered to him. A glance at his hands showed that he was gripping the steering wheel tight enough that his knuckles had turned white under the pressure. Danni, breathed in, leaned forward and turned the music which had been playing softly off, leaving them in silence.

"What would you like me to talk about exactly?" She asked him, her voice deceptively light. "Would you like me to talk to you about how you hung our only lead in this case off of a roof top? Or perhaps you would like me to talk about the fact that you completely ignored me on the roof as though I wasn't there? Is that what you would like to talk about Steve?"

Steve looked at her.

"I told you that I…"

"Oh wait, that you had complete control over the whole situation and there was no external force that you weren't prepared for. Yes I know you've already told me to that" She said with a nod. "Have you got anything further you would like to add to that?" She questioned him, her head tilted to the side as she waited. He shot her a searching look, a hint of unease coming to his features as though he could detect himself walking into a trap but had no way of not falling into it. It would have almost been amusing if the situation wasn't so serious.

"I wasn't ignoring you up there, I heard everything you said to me Danni" He told her. Danni nodded at him.

"I see" She said slowly as though she was considering his answer. "Perhaps if you don't have anything else which you'd like to add to that then I can talk now, like you want me to? Because that's what you asked for right? For me to talk to you?" She pointed out to him. He nodded at her, the uneasy look growing as he took one of his hands off the wheel and waved it at her.

"Go ahead" He said.

"I will" She promised him, she straightened the skirt of her dress, taking a deep breathe in she turned back to him. "I am a Detective Steve" She said softly, carrying on speaking when he opened his mouth to interrupt. "I spent a lot of hard, difficult years to get to that rank. I faced prejudice and abuse at every turn. I was told time and time again that I would never make it, that I was in the wrong job and I should go and find a more suitable job for someone like me. I went through shitty assignments that were given to me simply because I was a woman, I went undercover to places which make me shudder even thinking about them years later. I did things that I'm not proud of Steve but I did them because it was my job, because I was protecting the people I swore an oath to protect. And not once did I have to result to breaking the rules myself because I could have you know, it would have been easy enough to do it. But I didn't because if I had, then I would have been no better than the monsters and criminals that I swore to hunt and get off the streets. I have to go home each day to my daughter and be able to look her in the face and know that I'm still one of the good guys. That I can be someone that Grace can look up to and be proud of and use as a role model" She stated, keeping her eyes fixed on his face.

Steve turned to look at her, a look in his eyes which she couldn't read.

"Danni I…" He began to say but she stopped him, holding up her hand to for silence.

"It's still my turn to talk Steve, you had your chance already and you said you were finished" She replied, her voice cool and clipped. "What you did up there on the roof… it was wrong" She told him, shaking her head before she continued. "I know you're a Navy SEAL okay, I know you've stared evil in the face the same as I have done and you've come through the other side. I know you have been on countless missions to places in the world that most people don't know even existed and that you can't talk about them because they are classified but you aren't there now Steve. You're in Hawaii now. You work in a taskforce with three cops, your partner is a cop. You cannot hang suspects off of a roof just because you want to put the fear of God into him. We can't do that, do you understand? We have to follow the law because we protect the law. I was working on Ivanovich Steve, I was getting into his head. If you had given me the time then I could have broken him."

"The Governor has given us means and immunity Danni we…" Steve began.

"And?" Danni countered, stopping him mid-sentence. "Yes the Governor has given us means and immunity and it's nice to know that we won't have red tape holding us back at crucial moments but they key word is crucial moments. Just because we have it, it doesn't mean that we should use it every second of every day in every single case. It should be a last option for us because we are good as team, we can solved cases without it. We are not going to be the kind of cops who shoot to kill unless we have no choice because there are other ways, a shot to the leg or the arm or somewhere on the body that won't cause instant death is better."

Steve looked at her for a moment before he spoke.

"Can I speak now?" He asked. Danni nodded, feeling drained.

"Go ahead" She answered.

"Ivanovich wouldn't have talked to you Danni, no matter how much you worked on him, he would have just continued to check you out without listening to a word you were saying" He stated evenly.

"Continued to check me out?" Danni repeated, her eyes widening. Steve ploughed on as though she had remained silent.

"What did you think he was doing on the roof" Steve said. "That's not the point though, a guy like Ivanovich is only going to talk if someone puts the fear of death in him. There's no other way of getting anything out of him."

"The fear of death?" Danni repeated, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose as she prayed for strength. "I find Steve that most people out there will confess to just about anything if they are afraid they are about to die. It's the human condition, the instinct to do whatever it takes to survive. The thing is that with those confession, nine times out of ten, aren't true confessions. The person has just said it because he or she thinks it's what they have to say to live."

"Danni I need you to trust me on this because I've dealt with men like Ivanovich in the past and I know what they are like" He told her, looking at her. "Did you see the tattoo which he had on his right hand?" He asked her, abruptly changing the subject. Danni blinked at him.

"His tattoo? What you mean the blue star one he had?" She asked him. "I saw it but what's your point, a lot of people have stars tattoos, it's a popular shape and kind."

"They do and it is, but none of those tattoos would like the one which he had Danni" He told her, turning the car down to the left, down an unfamiliar road. "The star he had is a known symbol for the New Belgrade Serbian mafia. These guys are not the smash and grab type of people. These guy kill kids Danni, they slaughter families and they stick together, he would never have rolled on his crew because they are like his family. The only way he could have gotten a location from him is if he thought he was about to die because then that instinct you spoke of would kick in. You told me you didn't want to tell Evan that his father is dead, well this is me trying to make sure that you don't have to because if we don't find him soon then he is a goner. Evan will lose his father because they won't hesitate to kill him and they will enjoy it because it's what they are good at. Now are we good Danni because I need you to be on the same page as me and I need that mind of yours focused on the case?"

Danni breathed out slowly, looking at him, her mind processing what he told her.

"We're partners Steve" She said. "I might not agree with your methods but I'm on the same page as you." He breathed out slowly, his eyes closing briefly for a second before she spoke. "But never again though Steve, you understand? I never want you to do that again. There was better ways of getting answers even if you have to put the fear of God into someone. We" she said, waving her hand between them. "Are going to be under intense scrutiny from everyone all the time, especially right now that we're just starting out. We're the Governor's taskforce which means everything we do has to be above the board because if it isn't then she could easily change her mind and disband us. You'd be fine, you'd go back to the Navy and do what you do best but think about the rest us when you make these spur of the moment decisions. Chin would be forced to go back to Pearl Harbour to be wasted as a security guard for the rest of his life. Kono would become just another officer in the force but one who would never get the chances she deserves before of her family connections and I would go back to that hellhole where it would be ten times worse for me this time round. Your decisions don't just affect you, they affect us all, just like when you were a SEAL. I want this taskforce to work Steve, Chin wants it to work and Kono does as well and all three of us are completely committed to making that happen and we will have your back no matter what but you just need to remember that we are a team. I told you five days ago that you need to tell me the reasoning behind your decision even if you don't tell the others because I'm your second and I'm your partner and that hasn't changed Steve. You need to talk to me, even if we have to work on a hand signal to let me know that you're about to do something crazy. I need to know."

Steve remained silent staring out of the window screen. She watched him for a second before she turned and looked out the window.

"Okay Danni" He said finally

"Okay Danni what?" She asked him feeling tired suddenly.

"Okay Danni I get your point" He answered before he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to lecture me to death every time I do something you don't like or is this an one off special?" Danni considered his question for a moment before she nodded

"I'm a mother, lecturing is what we do best Steve" She said, smiling at him finally. Steve smiled back.

"I'll keep that in mind" He told her.

"How far are we from the Lowry house now?" She asked him curiously changing the subject.

"Ten minutes" He answered, Danni nodded, leaning back in the seat. "Is there something else on your mind?" Steve asked her. Danni shrugged.

"Do I need to book seats for the cinema tonight do you think?" She asked him, looking towards him. Steve looked surprised by the question.

"You mean tickets for the Disney film with Grace?" He asked her.

"Yeah" She answered "I would have booked them in New Jersey because the cinema is always packed on Fridays there but do I need to do it here? We haven't been to the cinema here yet" She admitted. Steve stared at her for a moment looking amused

"We're here" Steve said to her with a smile as he pulled the car up to a stop in front of the house. Danni blinked, looking towards it.

"So we are. Forget I asked" She said, slipping back into work mode as she opened her door. She glanced at the house and breathed out before she set her shoulders and began walking towards it.

If they were going to find anything then it would be here that they would find it.

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read! An especially big thank you if you have left me a review!**


	10. Steve meet Toast

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Chapter ten here we are!**

**I can't believe how quickly this story seems to be going, I know I originally said it would be fifteen chapters long but I think I underestimated slightly. I'm still holding on to the belief that it what be as long as 'The Beginning' but I do now think it be a close thing. Maybe it will be about 18 to 20 chapters long though don't quote me on that! **

**So in this chapter we meet Toast for the first time, a scene which I have really been looking forward to writing, mainly because I really like his character. I think it's safe he will feature in this saga. Mainly because I think he was a wasted character. His and Danni relationship is going to be a lot of fun to write as is his and Steve **

**This chapter is a bit lighter than the previous chapters mainly because it's the first time the pair of them have been able to talk about something which isn't case related. I know people want more romance between Steve and Danni and it is coming but slowly. They have only known each other for five days and for the majority of time they've been busy with work and trying to get everything sorted at the office however things will start to happen soon, or at least the flirting will increase.**

**I apologise as well if I sometimes use English words instead of American. Sometimes it hard to remember to change things around, especially when my brain is convinced that the right word or saying has been used.**

**Anyway please enjoy.**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve meet Toast**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Ten

Steve meet Toast

* * *

**Roland Lowry's house**

**151 Dorian Avenue**

**Kahala**

**Oahu**

* * *

Commander Steven 'Steve' McGarrett point of view

* * *

Steve breathed out, taking a moment to compose himself before he climbed out of the car, his eyes automatically moving around the scene, taking in vantage points, defensible positions, any place where an enemy solider could lay in wait to get the jump on them but there was nothing. The two guards were clearly alert and more than capable of keeping a scene free of any curious passer-by or neighbours. He nodded to himself, taking a step back from the car and closed the door behind him, locking it before he focused his eyes on Danni. She was looking down at something in her hands, no doubt her mobile, as she moved slowly towards the entrance to Lowry's place. His eyes flickered up to the two Officers noting that they were the same two as earlier which would save them some time.

He was still trying to process the lecture which Danni had given him in the car. The last time he had been told off like that had been when he was in SEAL training and got caught by his commanding officer sneaking off base. That lecture had consisted of a hell of a lot more swear words and flying hands before Steve was forced to run round the base fifty times in a row. Danni's lecture had been quieter, more purposeful, her hands still in her lap as she looked at him with a half annoyed, half disappointed look which had been able to reduce him to feeling about an inch tall.

The subject had clearly been something she felt strongly about if her reaction was anything to go by, perhaps because of all the abuse she had received before in the police force. It would make sense that she would need everything to be by the books to protect herself from the others she worked with, especially if she had been expecting them to turn on her in a second given the chance. A view which he would need to set about changing.

There were clearly some things which she was willing to overlook for the good of a case. She had remained silent through most of the Hesse case, providing him with the information he needed to break both Doran and Sang Min. Her face had been unreadable during it but she hadn't stopped him which meant that she must have agreed with it, at least slightly. And yet what he had done to Ivanovich up on the roof had clearly struck a nerve in her, something which she had reacted to which had resulted in her reduces him back to that cadet who had, had his ass handed to him by his commanding officer.

It would have to be a balancing act, he needed to find out what Danni could accept as a necessary evil to close a case and what was simply too much for the cop in her to sit back and accept. Using a suspect's weakness against them was acceptable, hanging them off of a roof and threatening them with imminent death was clearly not.

"Steve are you coming?"

Steve blinked looking up to see Danni facing him, a half puzzled, half concerned look on her face as she waited for an answer from him. Her hands now empty apart from her bag.

"Coming" He called back, checking the car absently before he followed her. She had already turned from him and was now speaking to the two uniforms officers. He approached, watching as Danni held her hand out to the older of the two with a smile. He saw the officer search through his pocket before he produce a key which he dropped into Danni's hand.

"Thank you Carl" He heard her say as he stopped by her, she glanced over her shoulder at him, the smile still lingering on her face before she moved passed him to the outer gate inserting the key into the lock. The officers had clearly shut the place down after they had taken Evan and Acacia Donoghue earlier. He looked at her as she turned the key, unlocking it and pushed the gate open. She looked back at him again, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Let's go" He said, placing his hand on her lower back and pushing her through into the garden area. "Make sure you keep an eye out for anything out here which looks suspicious. I don't want anyone coming in while we're in there" He stated looking between them.

"Of course Commander" The younger of the two said to him, turning his dark eyes away from him to scan the road. Steve nodded at the older one who Danni had called Carl before he turned and followed her through the gate, pulling it close behind him, he looked around him carefully taking everything in before he came to a stop by Danni. She had stopped in the middle of the path, her eyes fixed on the house with an intent expression as though she expected the house to start talking to her.

"It looks like Lowry has a security camera situated at every corner of the place which means that he has every inch covered. I doubt there is one single blind spot which an intruder could use to get in undetected. The lock on the outer gate is a double dead bolt so we can make the reasonable assumption that if he's got a lock like that on the outside that he will definitely have some in the inside as well. There's two entrances that I can see. This one which I assume is the main one and another, more concealed one to the side of the house which Lowry could easily use as an escape route in the need ever arose. Literally the only thing this guy is missing to make this place untouchable, is gun turrets to shoot down intruders. There is no way someone could have gotten in here and taken him from him, it's just not going to happen. The only way they could have kidnapped him was how they did it" Danni commented with a shake of her head as she turned to look at him.

"Hacking the cameras or the computer system wouldn't be doable either, those are the latest models imbedded with anti-hacking chips which make it pretty impossible to do" Steve added. "Clearly Lowry takes his personal security seriously just like Evan told us he did."

"That's not a surprise" Danni said with a shrug as she began moving down the path to the main entrance. "He is a father after all raising his only child alone. I bet his whole world is fixed on keeping Evan safe anyway he can. It would be easy enough for him to get everything he needed, he probably still has contacts with the NSA who would give him anything he wanted if he asked them for it."

"Kid or not this is slight overkill when it comes to security for a residential place" He replied with a shake of his head.

"Or not in this case" Danni stated. "I mean he has just been kidnapped off the street, maybe he had a good reason to have all this security. He clearly had an inkling that he was at risk from something." She pointed out as she used the same key from the gate to unlock the front door, stepping into the hallway. Steve glanced around again before he followed her into the building.

"We need to find his notebooks, his computers and any files which he might have made up" Steve told her, moving further into the living room and looking around him, his eyes narrowing as he looked for anything which they could use.

"You do remember that I'm a cop right? I know exactly what I'm meant to be looking for" Danni remarked, an amused tone to her voice.

Steve rolled his eyes but remained quiet as he headed over to the desk in the corner and began opening the drawers looking in them, his eyes scanning any paper which he found to see if it was useful or not.

"How are things going at your house by the way?" Danni suddenly asked. "Have you got settled in there okay? Requested your stuff from wherever it was you were based before here?" Steve frowned slightly at the question before he turned to look at her.

"Everything's fine" He answered her, there was a silence which lasted a few moments before Steve suddenly spoke. "What do you think of the place?" He questioned.

"Your place or here?" Danni asked, looking confused for a second.

"This place" Steve said, "I mean the style of it, the whole minimalist sort of thing?" He asked. Danni stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him fully.

"What?" She asked "Why are you asking me about whether I like Lowry's decorating abilities? What has that got to do with your place and whether you're settling in alright or even with this kidnapping case?" She demanded, tilting her head to the side as she stared hard at him as though she was trying to read his mind.

"I'm thinking of redecorating my dad's… I mean my place" He corrected himself quickly, ignoring the stab of pain which he felt at the words. "And I've been thinking of how to do it and this" He said waving his hand about him. "Seems okay so I thought I'd ask your opinion on it that's all" He commented, looking away from Danni when she continued to stare silently at him.

"Why ask me?" She questioned.

"Because you're here now" Steve said, "Because I was going to ask you to help me with the place, because if I ask Chin and Kono then they won't have the faintest idea what I'm talking about. Pick a reason" He told her.

Danni raised an eyebrow at him, looking surprised by his comment.

"You want me to help you decorate your home?" She repeated. Steve shrugged at her.

"You said that you were good at decorating. You decorated your own place and you said you were going to start on headquarters once you had a moment free so I thought that you could help me out. It's not a big deal if you can't. I'll just hire someone to pick a style and go with it." He said matter of factly.

"I didn't say I wouldn't help you Steve, I'm just surprised that you chose now to ask me" She said. "Don't hire someone because they don't know you well enough to decide a style for you. You need something which is you so you can turn your Dad's old house into your home. This style" she said looking around her "Is all well and good but I wouldn't pick it because it doesn't seem you" She told him. "I'm going to have a look out the back and see if there's anything out there." She stated, changing the subject, her voice becoming professional.

"Yeah okay then" Steve answered, a smile coming to his face when she turned and opened up the other set of sliding doors to the side of the room and disappeared through them. Steve dropped the papers which he had been looking through back into the drawers and closed it. There was no sign of any files and Steve hadn't seen a sign of a computer yet either. He turned from the desk and made his way across the room, stopping in front of a book case, his eyes scanning the title of the books on it.

There was nothing about the place which seemed out of place to him. All it seemed was that they were in the house of a man who had a state of the art security system and that was it. He sighed out silently before he tilted his head back to the door which Danni had gone through surprised to see her standing in the door way, arms crossed over her chest as she stared hard at the same bookcase which Steve had looked at. She was frowning, with that look on her face which told him that she had spotted something again, something which was out of place.

"Danni?" He called out to her, waiting until she turned to him, her face becoming thoughtful as she quirked an eyebrow at him in silent question. "You want to share something with the rest of the class?" He prompted when she remained silent. She turned, waving her hand towards the bookcase.

"I might be wrong but with the way the rest of this house is set out, I'm pretty sure that there's meant to be another room where that bookcase is" She commented, uncrossing her arms and waving a hand towards it. Steve looked away from her, frowning as he looked closely at the bookcase again. He moved towards it, reaching out and knocked his knuckles against the wood at the back of it. His eyebrow rising when it sounded hollow. "Can you open it?" She asked him curiously, moving towards him.

Steve leaned away from it, scanning the side before his eyes landed on a dark scuff mark to the right hand side of it. He looked at Danni again and nodded at her, before he reached forward, gripped the side of it and pulled. There was a moment's resistance before the bookcase moved away from the wall revealing the missing room.

Steve let go of the bookcase, staring into the room. It was medium size, lit by a faint light and filled to the brim with high tech computers which created a pleasant humming sound.

"Wow" He murmured, moving into the room, his gaze moving around him trying to take it in.

"Yeah wow" Danni agreed from just behind him. "This is... well this is slightly above my technological knowhow. Where exactly is Chin when you need him?" She said absently as she moved into the room, stopping by his side. Steve smiled at her comment before he reached down and picked up one of the keyboards from the side "Steve no, shouldn't we…" Steve pressed down on the enter button, watching as all the computer screens around them suddenly lit up, covered in some sort of computer code which Steve didn't recognise. "Wait." Danni finished with a sigh as she shook her head at him.

"We need to find someone who can tell us what all of this means" Steve commented, placing the keyboard back on the side before he took a step back, turning to look at Danni.

"Weren't you part of the Naval Intelligence Unit?" she asked him. "Can't you make anything of this? I would have thought that you would have seen code like this before during your time with them." She commented curiously. Steve shook his head at her.

"Nothing quite like this." He admitted. "I've seen super grade level cryptography before but that isn't what this is. This is something completely different. This is like some off the chart hack code that only a few people could understand and decode."

"Of course it is" Danni replied with a sigh, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes closing. She remained that way for a second, clearly thinking before she lowered her hand, her eyes opening and focusing on him. "Do you want to get Jack down here and give him a go at it? He might be able to crack the code." She suggested. Steve shook his head.

"Not unless we have no other choice. O'Connor is still part of the NSA Danno, if he comes in here then he might forget about finding Lowry and shut this place down. I need to know what all of this is and how it relates to what Lowry was working on before that happens. Once we have Lowry then O'Connor can have the room. We need to find someone else who can do it. Lowry made his key probably in here so it be good to see exactly what he made."

"So from what you said earlier we need a really good hacker to look at it?" She said thoughtfully before she suddenly smiled. "I think I know someone who might be able to help us with this" She told him brightly.

"Who?" Steve questioned. "Ryan Moore?"

Danni looked startled for a moment.

"Ry?" She repeated in disbelief. "Why would Ry know anything about hacking? He's head of CSU Steve, hacking into computer systems isn't exactly his speciality. No the person I'm talking about is ever so slightly different from Ryan" She told him, looking amused again. "Do you have your wallet on you?" she suddenly asked him. Steve blinked at the sudden change in the conversation.

"Yes" He replied hesitantly.

"Good" Danni said, "In that case we're going to need to make a stop off on the way to see my guy" she said. "I don't think we're going to find anything else in the house. If Lowry had left anything around the place then it's likely that Evan would have found it and told us about it earlier. Lowry clearly created this room to keep his work hidden from everyone. I doubt that Evan or Acacia even knew it existed." She said, moving out of the computer room and back into the main living area. Steve followed her, pushing the door closed behind him.

"Where is the guy who we're going to see exactly?" Steve asked, moving past her and heading for the entrance.

"He lives in the Ka'a'awa valley" Danni answered, following Steve out the door and locking it behind them. Steve nodded at her, waiting for her to finish before they head back to the gate stepping through it. "Thanks guys" She said to the two police officers. "We'll be back shortly with someone so I'll keep the key with me. Are you going to be relived anytime soon?" She questioned. Carl glanced down at his watch.

"In an hour or so Detective" He answered her, Danni nodded at him.

"We'll probably be back before then but just in case we get held up could you please tell your replacement when they come to expect us?" She asked smiling when Carl nodded at her. "Thanks for that Carl" she said before she turned and headed towards the car.

Steve nodded at them before he followed her, unlocking it and getting back into the driver's seat, hiding his grin with difficulty. Danni hadn't mentioned anything about getting her keys back from him yet so perhaps she had finally accepted that Steve was a better driver than she was.

He waited until she was in the passenger seat before he started the car up, moving away from Lowry's home.

"Where do you want to stop off then?" He asked her.

"Anywhere which is going to sell sweets" She answered glancing towards him, Steve frowned opening his mouth to speak but she continued with what she was saying. "Just trust me okay, I know it sounds insane but if we want help then sweets are needed, there's nothing which comes for free after all" she pointed out. Steve nodded turning onto the main road, his mind mapping out the quickest way to get to their destination, a way which would include a stop off at a place which would sell sweets. "So" she said after a moment's silence. "When you say that you want to redecorate your house, do you mean all of it at once or a room at a time?" She asked.

"All of it" He confirmed.

"From scratch?" She pressed. Steve glanced at her before he nodded.

"Yeah completely from scratch." He said.

"Well it makes sense, I mean if you're going to be living there for the foreseeable future then you might as well make it into a place which you love or at least you feel comfortable being in. Are you going to hire people in to do the work for you?" She questioned him.

"No, it be too expensive, it be cheaper for us to do it ourselves" He answered.

"Ourselves?" Danni repeated. "So it's gone from me helping you pick out colour schemes to me actually helping you rebuild your father's house into your own home?" She asked.

"You don't have to Danni, I…"

"No, no Steve. I said I would help you so I will. I can do the very basics when it comes to DIY though I'm seriously no expert. You'll have to speak to Chin and see whether you can convince him to give up his free time to help as well." She suggested.

"Wait Chin? Why Chin?" Steve repeated.

"Yep Chin, good looking guy who works with us? He's amazing when it comes to wood work. Did you know that he carved all the chairs in his house himself? He's got a real touch for it" She commented. "Pull over here Steve, this seems like a good enough place to get the sweets from" She suddenly said, pointing past him towards a market on the other side of the road. Steve blinked, following her instructions and pulled over into a parking space. "Money?" She asked him.

Steve stared at her for a moment before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty which he held out to her. Danni took it from him with a smile, grabbing her sunglasses from the dashboard before she climbed out the car. He watched her move round the front of the car, slipping her sunglasses on before she crossed the road, raising her hand in thanks to the driver on the other side who stopped for her before she disappeared into the shop.

Steve shook his head, staring out of the window screen as he wondered who exactly they were going to see in the valley. Was it another one of Danni's friends because he was slowly beginning to realise that she had quite a few littered round the place. He glanced out of the driver's side in time to see Danni emerge from the shop holding a brown bag beneath one arm, smiling at a man who held the door open for her before she headed back over to the car. Steve rolled his eyes, his gaze narrowing on the guy who was still staring at Danni as she crossed the street, blatantly checking her out. He turned his attention to her as she opened the door and got in. She dropped the bag into the foot well and looked at with him a smile.

"Ready to go?" She asked, handing him over his change. Steve nodded, shoving the money into his pocket before he hit the indicator and came out into the road again.

"How do you know that Chin made his own chairs?" Steve asked her. Danni shrugged at him with a tilt of his head, the same way she always tilted her head when she was trying to work him out.

"He told me" She answered simply. "We went to lunch together on Wednesday while you were with the Governor. You know to get to know each other sort of thing. He asked me about my house, I told him I had decorated it myself and then he mentioned it.

"What about Kono?" Steve asked her, ignoring the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What do you mean what about Kono?" She asked him looking confused.

"Did she say anything about her house?" He questioned. Danni shook her head.

"Kono in the market for a place at the moment but she wasn't with me and Chin on Wednesday, it was just the two of us. Kono went surfing instead, she said something about being the beginning of the season and she wanted to get as much surfing done as she could before our cases start to come in. Once they do we won't have any time to relax during the day."

"So you and Chin went to lunch together just the two of you then?" Steve repeated. "Where did you go?" He asked.

"A place near North shore, it was really nice actually" She answered him with a shrug. "I went to lunch with him, the same way that I went to lunch with you on Tuesday and I went to lunch with Kono on Thursday. It's not that big of deal" She commented.

"And who are you lunching with today?" He asked.

"Probably no one because we might not get any lunch today due to the fact that we're in the middle of a case but if we do have any time then I was going to pick something up from everyone so we could eat together and discuss the case" She said. "I mean what the issue exactly?"

"There's no issue Danni, I was just surprised that was all" He answered lightly, his hands tightening on the wheel.

"Okay" She said slowly, dragging the word out, a slight smile quirking her mouth. "Anyway as I was saying if you need wood work done then you should talk to Chin. I'm sure he'll help you Steve."

"So what is your skill set then?" He asked, smirking when Danni laughed at him.

"Let me get this straight, you asked me to help you with your house and now you're asking me what my skill set is?" She asked him with a shake of her head. "You know people normally find out the answer to that question first before they ask someone for their help. You're safe though, I might not be great with DIY but I am very good when it comes to painting. I find the whole thing relaxing."

"Well there will be lots of painting to be done that's for sure" He promised her.

"Well there you go then" She said. "Turn down here" She said, nodding to a small dirt path to the right of the road. Steve nodded, indicating into the road.

"Your hacker friend lives up here?" He asked Danni who nodded at him. They pulled to a stop outside a small area that had been cornered off by a grey cement blocks. Steve pushed open the driver's door and climbed out. "So how do you know this person then Danni?" He asked his partner, closing the door and twisting round, resting his arm on the top of it and watching her. She glanced around her as well before she turned and looked at him, mirroring his posture.

"His name is Adam Charles but everyone knows him as Toast" She told him.

"Toast?" Steve replied with a raised eyebrow. Danni nodded.

"When I got here in March my first case on the job was a hacking one. Toast got busted hacking into ATMs all around the island. He's actually a good kid though. He just got caught up with some idiots who knew what he could do and were using him for his skills."

"Well he's clearly not inside doing any time so what happened exactly? Did your heart bleed for him Danni?" He queried. Danni tilted her head.

"We brought him in for questioning and we arrested him. I did everything which I was meant to do Steve. I just…. Well I put in a good word with the judge, explaining the situation to him and asked him to cut Toast a break. He's a good kid Steve, he's crazy smart and he's young, like only twenty seven. He deserves to have another chance. He had a scholarship to MIT, they don't just give them out to just anyone."

"It sounds like you're fond of him" Steve commented. "So he's what a genius then?" He questioned as they moved towards the open planned house which was crowded with people.

"He is, or at least he is for about an hour a day" She admitted with a grin. Steve looked at her.

"An hour?" He repeated. "And what about all the other times of the day?"

"Well that time he's… well he's baked like a potato." She said with a laugh. Steve grinned.

"Ah, pakalolo" He said, making the movement of smoking something with his fingers. Danni nodded.

"He says that it helps him see patterns and all codes are patterns right so my boy should be able to break Lowry's code." She said. Steve frowned slightly at the term of affection she used but was stopped from saying anything as they came to a stop behind a young man looking at laptop with earphones on. Danni leaned over, dumping the bags of sweets on the table in front of him before she moved back, glancing at Steve.

Steve watched as the man straightened.

"Oh my" He commented, his voice sounding lazy and chilled out. "Dessert before dinner." He took the earphones off and turning in his seat looking at Steve first. The man was pale with scruffy short dark hair, a goatee and dark eyes. Steve nodded at him, crossing his arms as Toast's attention moved towards Danni. A wide grin coming to his face as he lazily looked up and down.

"Hey blondie, Aloha" He said with a wink.

"Don't call me blondie Toast" Danni replied back with a roll of her eyes.

"Well you are blond" He pointed out with a shrug "You're looking beautiful as usual as well, still taking down criminals in a dress and heels I see?" He questioned, sitting up straight his eyes not leaving Danni's.

"I took you down easily enough in a dress Toast" She pointed out to him. "And I'm pretty sure I was wearing high heels on that day as well and If memory serves me right then I easily outran you in them."

Toast laughed at her.

"What can I say, you blinded me Blondie" He answered before he looked at Steve. "Who is your friend exactly?" He queried.

"Toast, this is my partner Commander Steve McGarrett, Steve this is the hacker I told you about. Adam Charles better known as Toast." Danni said. Steve nodded at Toast, his eyes narrowing when the other man looked between them.

"Partner like that scary Hawaiian was your partner or partner as in he's your boyfriend?" he asked.

"Work partner" Danni answered. Toast grinned at her.

"Good, good so you're still a free agent then" He said.

"I never said that" Danni replied. Steve turned his head to look at her but she ignored her. He looked back art Toast.

"Well if you change your mind then my probation is over so I can take you out for dinner sometime soon."

"That's sweet, a bit disturbing but strangely sweet." Danni said, looking towards Steve and raising an eyebrow at him. Steve forced his face into a neutral expression when he realised that he had been glaring at Toast. "I need a favour from you Toast." She told him, turning back to Toast.

"Anything for you Blondie" Toast replied instantly.

"Good, then grab your stuff then so we can go" She told him. Toast raised an eyebrow at her, turning to look at Steve when he spoke to him.

"We're taking a ride."

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read**

**An especially big thank you if you left me a review, I really appreciate it.**


	11. This is unreal Blondie

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Next Chapter is here!**

**It's hard to believe that I'm on chapter eleven now and that this story has now turned onto the final stages. I think there will be between eighteen to twenty chapters at the rate it's going though I won't know until I'm about three chapters from the end. It is exciting to know that I'm near the end! Now I need to start planning the third story 'Burn' and decide where I want the story to go from there. As in do I have time to add another own case in or will time dictate that it's the third episode of season one! Decisions, Decision.**

**This chapter and the next chapter are sort of the lull before the storms and then the action will kick in and that action will probably last about three chapters' odd give or take.**

**I find that with every chapter that I write there is more and more issues which arrive that I want to explore. I know the basics of stuff, how relationships work out, who likes who. Who becomes friends with who, who doesn't. Everything like that is planned but how the characters get to that point is often beyond me, mainly because I believe in letting characters write themselves and seeing where they lead me.**

**For example Steve might believe that he's the head of 50 but personally I'm beginning to wonder whether there is just one head or actually two and Steve just doesn't realise it yet. Which then begs the questions on what he will think when he does figure it out OR does he already know and is happy with it. See so many questions**

**Anyway that's enough for me so enjoy the chapter! Who knows maybe I'll be so inspired after writing this and watching the new episode that I'll have to start on the next chapter **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Steve and Danni take Toast back to the Lowry house and get the confirmation which they need.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

This is unreal Blondie

* * *

**Ka'a'awa valley**

**Kaneohe Bay**

**Oahu**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Danni William's Point of view

* * *

Danni smiled reassuringly at Toast when his face dropped into a half wary, half suspicious expression at Steve's coolly uttered statement. She couldn't blame him really, Steve was doing nothing to make himself look approachable, if anything he was focusing on making himself look as intimidating as he could. It was a method which wouldn't work with Toast, he was skittish around law enforcement, rightly cautious considering his past. He had once told Danni during one of his highs that she was the only person in authority that he trusted and Danni needed him to trust her partner as well.

She waited until Toast's eyes flickered to hers, searching them for a moment before he nodded at her, a small, warm smile replacing his previous expression before he turned back to the table he had been working on and began saving something on his laptop. Danni took the opportunity to deliver a sharp jab into Steve's side, waiting until he looked at her before she spoke, her voice barely above a murmur.

"Stop it Steve" She told him, nodding her head to Toast. Steve rolled his eyes at her, but she saw his muscles loosen as he uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his side in a more relaxed stance. She nodded at him with a smile when his eyes flickered towards her before she turned her attention back to Toast as the younger man stood up, hunching down and picking up a rucksack from the floor by his chair. He threw it on the table surface and opened it, stuffing the laptop into.

Danni couldn't hide the grin which came to her face when Steve saw for the first time that Toast was a good two inches taller than he was. She had the distinct impression that Steve was normally used to being the tallest out of people.

"So where exactly are we going then? Toast asked, moving round the chair as he shouldered his bag, his eyes focusing on Danni as he waited for her to answer him.

"Nowhere sinister Toast" she assured him. "We just need to take you somewhere because there's something there that we need you to take a look at for us."

Toast nodded slowly at her before his eyes focused on Steve, a slight frown coming to his face as his hands tightened on the strap of his bag. Danni followed his gaze, rolling her eyes when she caught sight of Steve's face again. He had recrossed his arms over his chest, his face fixed back in the same unreadable look which turned his eyes dark and cold looking. The SEAL look they had begun to call it. The rate they were going they would need to start making a visual guide to chart and name all of Steve's different faces just to see what mood he happened to be in.

"Erm is he okay?" Toast asked Danni, his eyes flickering back to her with a questioning look. He nodded his head towards Steve indicating who he meant exactly.

"He's fine Toast" Danni assured the younger man as she placed her hand on Steve's forearm and squeezed down hard on the muscle, her fingernails lightly digging into the warm Skin. She gave him a sharp look when he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Yeah I am" Steve answered, Danni nodded once, taking her hand back as Steve turned and headed back through the building without a glance back at them. Danni watched him until he disappeared through the entrance before she looked back at Toast attracted by his long drawn out whistle.

"What does he do again because there's no way that that guy is a cop like you or if he is then he seriously needs to work on his people skills" Toast complained with a shake of his head. Danni made a sound of amusement as she lightly touched Toast on the back and began pushing him forward.

"McGarrett is the head of the Governor's new taskforce. He's also a Commander in the Navy though he's currently a reservist so he can focus on doing this instead" She explained, raising an eyebrow when Toast snorted at her explanation.

"A Commander? Commander what? Commander Hard ass? Commander No sense of humour?"

"Toast" she said, trying to keep her face straight as they moved through the room. Danni looked around her carefully, eyes lingering on the other inhabitants of the building but apart from a few looks of mild concern and interest they were ignored which she was grateful for. The last thing they needed was to waste time explaining to people who were clearly out of their heads, where they were taking their friend.

"What?" He asked her, attracting her attention. "It's true, so true that that's what I'm going to call him from now on. Commander Hard ass and blondie" Toast said with a grin as he looked at her.

"Watch the road" Danni suggested as they made their way down the rocky path towards where the car was. Steve was already in the driver's seat, engine on, staring at them through the window screen with a look of impatience on his face. "And a piece of advice for you Toast. I really wouldn't suggest you call him Commander Hard ass to his face" She told him mildly. "Get in the back" She instructed, giving him a push towards the door before she moved round the front of the car and pulled open the passenger door. She climbed in, pulling on her seatbelt before she focused her gaze on Steve as he turned to look at her. "Everything okay?" She asked him quietly.

"Yeah it's fine" He told her, his gaze turning from her to look in the mirror. He barely waited until Toast had closed the door behind him before he threw the car into the correct gear and did a U turn. Danni turned to Toast who was making himself comfortable in the back of her car.

"I'd put a seatbelt on if I was you Toast, Steve likes the acceleration pedal a bit too much." She told him before she looked back to the front as they turned out of the dirt road back onto the main road.

"You know you still haven't told me where we're going or what you need me for" Toast piped up from the backseat after about a minute of silence.

"We're investigating a kidnapping Toast" Danni responded. "And the guy who was kidnapped has a high tech computer system with a lot of hacker code which we can't crack but which need to so…"

"So you want me to take a look at it and see whether I can make anything of it for you?" Toast finished. Danni nodded, looking over her shoulder as Toast opened the bag of sweets she had given him. She smiled when he searched carefully through the selection before he selected a lollypop which he unwrapped and popped into his mouth with a hum of satisfaction. He glanced up at her, holding the bag out to her.

"Sweet?" He offered, his words muffled around the lollypop.

"I'm okay at the moment Toast but thanks for the offer" She said before she looked at Steve. "Would you like a sweet Steve?" Steve shot her a look which caused her to grin widely at him. He was staring at her as though she had offered him poison instead of a simple lollypop. "I'll take your look as a no thank you then" She said lightly, shifting in her seat as she stared out of the passenger window with a slight frown. Time was slipping away from them and it wasn't good. Every moment that passed was another moment which Lowry didn't have.

She blinked when her phone went off, the sound of the beach boys breaking the quietness in the car. She answered it without bothering to check the screen to see who it was, the ringtone had already told her that.

"Hey Kono, how are things going over there? Any phone call from the kidnappers yet demanding a ransom?" She asked hopefully.

"No there's been nothing" Kono answered her quietly. "I'm beginning to think that they aren't going to call and offer a ransom which means-"

"Which means that they'll kill Lowry once he's given them what they want. They've got no intention of letting him live" Danni finished, reaching up with her free hand and rubbing tiredly at her eyes, her mind filled with images of Evan and how he would react to the death of his father.

"Yeah" Kono said, she remained silent for a second before she began talking, her voice turning brisk and professional. "I've just spoken to Chin and he filled me in on what happened at the hotel. He said that he and Jack have taken turns working on Ivanovich but that he's given nothing away so they are going to take him to the hospital and get him some treatment for his arm. They've already contacted HPD to let me know what's happening and have requested that some uniforms are placed outside his door so that no one can get in and so Ivanovich can't get out."

"That sounds like a good idea to me" Danni agreed. "Have the uniforms check every ID and compare the photo to the actual person wearing it. It's easy enough to miss something and Ivanovich is a loose end for them now, one which they'll want to deal with, either they'll break him out of the hospital or they'll kill him. They'll pick whatever option is easiest at the time."

"Considering they'll want to make a quick escape once all of this is done it's likely they'll kill him." Kono stated "He's still injured so he's a liability to them now especially if they plan of escaping through the airport."

"We need to ID the crew he came in with" Danni agreed. "Then we can supply photos to the Immigration staff so they can catch them before they escape. Can you speak to Jack and get him to contact Interpol, if Ivanovich won't talk to us then we might as well hand him over to the people who want him. Either way the man is about to serve a very long stretch of jail time." She commented.

"Yeah that's not a problem, the man deserves to go down for something after what he did." Kono said not bothering to hide the satisfaction in her voice.

"Hey, how are things going with Lowry's girlfriend?" Danni asked, changing the subject. She glanced towards Steve unsurprised to see his eyes flickering between the road and her, clearly listening to every word she was saying.

"Well put it this way I think you're right about her Danni-girl, there's definitely something about her which feels off, I just can't figure out what it is. She's been attentive to Evan ever since we got back here. Trying to make him eat or drink something, consoling him and trying to reassure him. She's doing everything which you expect someone to be doing in this situation if they didn't know the victim. She doesn't seem to be showing any worry or grief herself. It's just not right"

"She's showing nothing at all?" Danni asked with a frown.

"Nothing" Kono confirmed. "She's constantly asking me for updates about what the rest of you guys are doing but she hasn't been asking me what I'm doing, not even when I set up the track and trace on her phone."

"That is strange" Danni said slowly "Normally they are obsessed with that."

"That's what I thought as well" Kono agreed, "She hasn't even looked at it."

"Did you tell her what the rest of us are doing?" Danni questioned.

"No" Kono answered. "I've just told her that you're all following leads and that if anyone can find her boyfriend then it's us. Have you found out anything about her yet? Anything that I can use?" Kono questioned, lowering her voice further which probably meant that Natalie was somewhere nearby.

"I haven't actually had a chance yet Kono, I haven't been back to the office since we left earlier but just give me a moment okay, there's something I might be able to do" She said thoughtfully, waiting until she heard Kono made an affirmative sound at the back of her throat before she turned in her seat. "Hey Toast" She asked, waiting until he looked up at her from his computer. "I don't suppose you still got access to the HPD database on your computer do you?" She queried, her mouth quirking up into a smile at the way his eyes suddenly widened.

"Err the HPD database you say? Well… no, no I mean why would I have access to that on my laptop when I'm a civilian. You have to be a member of the HPD force to get access to that and I'm most certainly am not that." He said, his words coming out in a rush.

"Toast" Danni said patiently. "I'm not going to arrest you okay? I just need to know if you have it because I need you to look something up for me, something which is important okay?" She told him.

Toast remained silent for a moment, his eyes moving side to side as though he was trying to work out if she was trapping him before he sighed, his shoulders slumping down in defeat.

"Yes I still have access to it" He admitted reluctantly.

"Good, I want you to get into it and find out everything which you can about a woman called Natalie Reed and I mean everything. She lives at-" Danni brought her mobile back to her ear again. "Kono where does Natalie Reed live again?" She asked.

"We're currently at 6754 Russell Street" Kono answered.

"6754 Russell Street" Danni repeated out loud for Toast. "Don't leave any stone unturned Toast, it's important okay" She said.

"Okay" Toast repeated, his fingers already flying over the keyboard with an intent look on his face before he suddenly looked up with a casual look which placed Danni on edge. "You know it would be easier if you gave me your password and your user name Blondie then I could-"

"Not going to happen Toast" Steve responded for her, a tone in his voice telling Toast not to push it further. Danni smiled when she heard the frustrated noise Toast made in the back before she turned her attention back to Kono who was still waiting.

"I've got someone looking into her right now Kono, as soon as they find anything then I'll call you okay?" She promised before she suddenly frowned, her gaze landing on the clock which was in her dashboard. "Kono, you're running out of time to get back to HPD for your graduation. Why don't you call Chin and ask him or Jack to take your place at Natalie's house so you can get back to headquarters and start getting ready." Danni said "If you leave now then you could make it with some time to spare. It's not for another hour and a half"

"It's cool sis" Kono answered her, a warm, friendly tone coming to her voice. "There's more important things at stake than me walking across a stage to collect a piece of paper, like finding a kid's father alive. Give me a call when you have something on her Danni-girl, speak to you later."

"Speak later" Danni said, ending the call and looking down at her phone for a moment, her stomach sinking. She glanced up when Steve spoke.

"What did Kono have to say to you then?" He asked her as he hit the indicator and pulled into a street on the left.

"She was just checking in" Danni answered. "They haven't rang with a ransom demand yet. It's been over two hours now so the chances that they will contact them now-"

"Is zero" Steve ended flatly. "Which means that Lowry is seriously running out of time, especially if he's broken and is doing as they ask now." Danni nodded, watching as Steve's hands tightened on the wheel, his jaw clenching.

"If he's broken" She said softly. "There's a chance he hasn't yet and we're beginning to make progress Steve. We know why he was taken, we even know who took him. We just need to figure out where they've taken him."

Steve nodded slowly, looking at her with the same look in his eyes which she had seen a few times from him but still couldn't read.

"What did Kono say about Chin and O'Connor?" He asked.

"Chin called her to give her an update on everything. They've tried to break Ivanovich but like you said, he wouldn't tell them anything so they are taking him to the hospital to get his wound checked out. They've contacted HPD already so he'll be under guard the whole time. Kono's going to speak to Jack and get him to call the Interpol agent on the case. He can come and collect Ivanovich."

"Text her and get her to ask O'Connor to find out if Interpol know who Ivanovich ran with. A crew like that are going to be extremely close and have probably been working together a long time."

"Okay" Danni answered turning her attention to her phone and writing the text as Steve requested. She sent it to Kono looking up when Steve spoke again.

"So everything is coming down to breaking the code then to see exactly what Lowry has created and what it can do. We don't know if it was a full key or whether it could only do some things because it was a prototype" Steve said, his eyes flickering away from hers to the mirror so he could look back at Toast who was ignoring the pair of them.

"So it would seem" She answered before she sighed. "He's very good at what he does Steve, trust me" She commented quietly, reaching over and patting his arm. "Toast will understand the code and break it and give us all the answers we need. You'll see."

"We'll see" Steve repeated.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before Steve pulled the car to a stop outside the Lowry house again. They exited the car and made their way back to the gates nodding at the two officers who were still there before Danni unlocked the gate and held it open for Steve and Toast, letting them through before she closed the door behind them.

"This is a nice place" Toast commented with a whistle as he looked around him.

"You can sightsee later" Steve remarked, "Right now we need your mind focused on looking at the code and breaking it."

Toast rolled his eyes before he nodded, standing straighter.

"Okay, take me to it then, I'll see what I can do" Toast said to him.

Danni raised an eyebrow, looking between the pair of them as Steve nodded at the other man and led him down the path towards the main house. She glanced around her, eyes lingering on the corners of the garden before she followed them into the house, down the hallway and into the living room where they had been before.

Danni watched as Steve headed straight to the bookcase, pulling it open and stepped back waving Toast in. She followed Toast into the small room and looked around her again, a small smile coming to her face when she saw the way Toast's eyes widened. He looked as though he was in heaven.

"Whoa" He said, dragging the word out as he took the seat in front of the computer screens, his eyes scanning them all as he pressed on the enter button on the keyboard and brought up the same screens which Steve had looked at earlier. "Okay your kidnapped dude whoever he is, has seriously made himself one sweet setup here. He clearly knew what he was doing." Toast commented.

Danni breathed out slowly, turning and looking at Steve who gave her a pointed look before he looked back towards Toast, clearly expecting her to deal with the Hacker and to keep him focused on the task at hand. Making a mental note to remember it and plot revenge against her partner, she spoke.

"Roland has a lot of experience when it comes to computer systems" She told him. "We need you to look at this and tell us what it is. It might be our only chance of finding him Toast." She stated.

"Plus it's only national security so it's not like it's anything important or anything. " Steve added, a tinge of sarcasm coming to his voice. Danni closed her eyes briefly before she turned and shot Steve an unimpressed look, waving her hand at him to quiet him. He shrugged at her remaining silent.

"How about I take my time and do it right unless you want me to just guess because I can do that if you want though I doubt you'll like the results." Toast remarked, turning to look over his shoulder at Steve, raising a challenging eyebrow at him. Danni blinked in confusion as they got into a staring match, neither of them clearly wanting to be the first to look away and back down.

"Guys" She said, waiting until they both turned to look at her before she continued. "Could we perhaps focus on what's important here please, you can have your pissing match later on when Roland is back with his son."

"Of course Blondie" Toast replied before he looked away from Steve and focused his attention back on the screens, eyes scanning them again. "Could I have a smoke?" He asked hopefully.

"No" Danni replied, her mouth quirking into a smile when she heard Steve answer at the same time as her.

"Very harsh Blondie, I expect it from Commander Hard ass over there but not from you" Toast commented lightly.

"Toast focus please" Danni said biting down on her lower lip to keep her laughter in when she caught sight of Steve's face at Toast's nickname for him. Her partner looked ready to leap forward and shake Toast until his head rattled. She moved over to him, patting Steve on the back attracting his attention back to her. "We need him remember" She told him. "You trying to make him, self-combust with your glare really isn't helping the situation." She pointed out to him.

Steve looked at her before he sighed, making a point of rolling his eyes.

"Yes mum" He said, his gaze moving to the corner of his eyes as though he was trying to see her reaction, his mouth twitching as though he was trying not to smile.

"Don't call me mum" She replied back instantly.

"Okay then, yes Danno" He corrected, a smile coming to his face.

"Don't call me Danno either" She said in frustration. Steve tilted his head to look at her, eyes glinting with amusement as he opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Toast spoke, attracting their attention to him.

"No freaking way" He exclaimed. Danni took her hand away from Steve's back and stepped towards Toast, her mind slipping back into work mode as she turned to look at the younger man.

"What is it?" She demanded "Have you found something we can use Toast?" She asked him, looking back at Steve when Toast remained silent for a second before he spoke.

"This is unreal Blondie, like unicorn style unreal." Toast remarked.

"Unicorn style?" Danni said in confusion sharing another look with Steve who merely shrugged at her. She sighed looking back at Toast who was staring at the screens again. "Toast" She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I've got no idea what you're talking about, you're going to have to explain it to me okay?" She said patting his shoulder.

Toast looked down at her hand before he looked back at her and grinned at her causing Danni to roll her eyes as she took her hand away from him.

"Okay, let me explain" He said slowly, leaning back in his chair before he reached up and ran his hand over the top of his head, his dark eyes moving side to side for a moment before he breathed out heavily and spoke. "I've heard rumours about this guy online but I always thought he was urban legend like vampires are urban legend sort of things."

"Vampires?" Danni said flatly.

"Yeah vampires, you know blood sucking-"

"I know what vampires are Toast" Danni said impatiently

"This guys is the guy that hackers aspire to be like, he's the best of the best. Rumours are that he was working on something, something big which would change everything if he did it but as I said it was rumour, no one really believed it but-" His voice trailed off for a moment before he shook his head and continued. "But it's not a rumour Blondie, he's actually gone and done it. This man" He said jabbing his finger at the screen "Is a legend."

"Okay so Roland is a legend in your community" Danni said, glancing towards Steve when he moved towards her, stopping by her side, his gaze fixed intently on Toast. "But what did he do that's got you all excited Toast?" Danni pressed.

"He's built a skeleton key Blondie. A skeleton key is basically a worm that can bypass asymmetric encryption on high grade security networks, and also allows remote access to infrastructure systems" He stated.

"Just like O'Connor said" Steve commented.

"Yeah" Danni agreed with a sigh, reaching up and rubbing at the back of her neck trying to ease the tension out of the muscles. "Toast can you give us an example of it?" She questioned.

"Yeah I can" He said, typing away on the keyboard as he brought up what looked like a grid. "Here, check it out" He said with a nod towards the biggest monitor.

"That's a rendering of the power grid of the entire island of Oahu" Steve stated, leaning towards the screen, resting his hands on the surface of the desk. "And that one is the radar array for Honolulu International airport" He said, pointing to another screen, tilting his head to the side so he could look at Danni.

"Just like Jack said" She commented, repeating Steve's words from earlier as her heart sank. Her mind skipping over all the possibilities which were now open to whoever had that key. They could do anything, literally anything. "Toast, what do you make of all this then?" She asked him.

Toast shrugged, nibbling down on his lower lip, his eyes moving between the screens, all of which were showing different grids and maps.

"I don't know Blondie, I'd need more time with the systems to find out exactly what the guy did but you're talking about places with heavy-grade asymmetric encryptions, that kind of system is the best of the best. It would take me weeks to hack into them but your boy Roland did it in days and he made it look easy. Trust me when I say it's not easy to what he has done."

"And he did all of that using this computer?" Steve demanded crossing his arms,

"No" Toast said thoughtfully with a shake of his head. "These are just the archives of his logs. You know a sort of reference for him to look at to how him what he's already done so he doesn't repeat it. The skeleton key itself wouldn't be on this drive, he would have been keeping it somewhere else" He commented, dropping the keyboard back onto the surface of the desk and climbing to his feet, his eyes looking around him before he moved to another hard drive which seemed to be missing a component of it. "My guess is that he stored the actual key in here and that he disconnected it and took it somewhere. Everything would have been on it."

"He would have taken it out this morning when he was on his way to Hickam to meet with the General" Steve stated with a frown.

"So now we know for definitely. Jack guess was the right one" Danni said "Which means were in a world of trouble."

"Not yet Danno, the key hasn't been activated yet which means we have time still" Steve answered.

"Okay" Danni said, interlocking her fingers together and pressing down hard using the pressure to focus. "So Roland created something which could be used to hack into the island infrastructure." She said, running it through her mind.

"He could hack into anything he wanted to Blondie as long as it was reliant in some way on technology" Toast corrected.

"Which was why he was kidnapped, whoever has him wants to do the same thing" Steve remarked ignoring Toast. Danni nodded in agreement. "Okay Toast, I want you to stay here and carry on looking though this and see what you can make of it. Will you be able to tell if the key is brought online?" Steve demanded, turning to the other man.

"No" Toast replied simply. "But give me twenty minutes and I should be able to create something which would allow me to do that for you. The equipment here is off the chart so it should be possible."

"Good crack on with that then" Steve said with a nod before he turned to Danni. "Danni, me and you are heading back to headquarters to meet up with Chin and O'Connor to see what they have. Hopefully Kono has spoken to O'Connor and he'll have something to tell us about the group Ivanovich was running with. If we can figure out who they are it will be easier to find out where they are keeping Lowry.-"

"Okay" Danni said with a nod before she turned her attention back to Toast. "You've got my number Toast, the minute that key comes online you call me okay?" She told him.

"You got it Blondie" Toast replied, retaking his seat.

She watched for a second as he stretched his arms out in front of him, interlocking his fingers together and cracked them before he shook them out and began typing, both of them clearly forgotten from his mind as he began working.

"Come on Danni, it's time to go" Steve said, reaching out and gripping her arm, using the hold to pull her towards the door. "We've got a job to do."

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Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read and an especially big thank you if you've taken the time to review or favourite or follow. It means a lot to me!**


	12. The shit was about to hit the fan

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Chapter Twelve!**

**I've been wanting to write this chapter for a while just to get a perspective of the team from an outsider's point of view and also just to explore Jack a little bit more. Personally I really like Jack but that could be because I know a hell of a lot about him and I find him interesting. Jack does do a slight recap of the day but it's because he's trying to get his head around everything **

**As I said previously this story is beginning to wind down now so hopefully I can keep it fresh and interesting enough that you'll join me on the third Danni saga story which will be the first none episode story or as I like to refer to them a missing case story. I'm trying to keep it in a time line and not jump ahead though at times it is tempting. I just feel that if I do that then I'll miss the natural flow of the McDanni relationship which I don't want to do. Especially when there is still so much to explore.**

**Exploring Danni's relationship with other people is also important to me so yep, expect this to be a long saga in the making!**

**I don't think there's much more to say apart from the fact that I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it explains a bit more about who Jack is as a person.**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

"**This guy? This guy you do not want on your island"**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

The shit was about to hit the fan

* * *

**27th September 2010**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

* * *

Special Agent Jack O'Connor's point of view

* * *

To say that Jack's head was hurting would probably be the understatement of the year. He knew why it ached, it ached because he was an idiot who hadn't counted on being out and about in Hawaii, finding himself on hot roof tops with the sun beating down on him when he had no water with him. All the while attempting to find a man who had been kidnapped by god only knew who.

What he wanted was a few minutes to sit down, drink a coffee, pop some pain killers and try and figure out how exactly he had ended up being in this situation in the first place.

He liked to think that he was good at his job. He understood the way computers and their systems and codes worked, he could glance at code and decipher it in seconds and there was also the fact that he could hack into anything given enough time though he tended to keep quiet about that ability since the NSA tended to frown upon anything which involved breaking into secured systems or documents. He was a team player who was more than happy to work alone when the need for it arose and five times out of ten he could be counted on keeping the rules, or at least he would keep the rules which didn't come between him and whatever his objective at the time happened to be.

He thought he would be prepared for most things but he was swiftly beginning to realise that the Governor of Hawaii's personal task force weren't one of those things.

He hadn't heard of them before that morning when he had received a call from his Unit chief at six thirty telling him that his lecture on Cyber terrorism at the Police Academy was being rearranged for another time and that he was instead to get himself over to a place called the Ala Moana Boulevard in Waikiki where he would meet up with someone called Commander McGarrett and join their criminal investigation into the kidnapping of one of their own former agents. A man called Roland Lowry

Jack understood the risks they took when they became NSA agents, they all did. The secrets which they held in their heads were enough to bring Governments down if one of them had ever had enough and began talking to the highest bidder. For the majority of them though the pay and the benefits which they were provided with outweighed the desire to start spilling secrets. Even in their retirement they were taken good care of which was why Roland Lowry's sudden unannounced retirement had sent a ripple across the units which were closely linked to the one which Lowry had headed up. Units which had included his own. People didn't just tend to leave the NSA, they certainly didn't just pack up their things and leave without a word and resurface in Hawaii months later. But then again Roland Lowry had never been particularly normal in the scale of things. The man was a legend in their department and legends tended to do what they wanted, when they want in Jack's experience

He hadn't known the man personally but he was still invested in finding the man alive. Lowry had a son, a son he was raising alone and it was something which Jack could understand and relate to as he was in the same boat raising his two young daughters alone, he knew all too well what it was like to be solely responsible for your child so if there was something he could do to help the taskforce find him alive, then he would do it.

His boss had only waited for him to agree before he gave Jack a brief run down on the members of the taskforce who he would be working with. He had listened, pulling on the first available clothes which he had been able to find, anxious to get down to the crime scene and see exactly what had been left if anything.

The task force was apparently only five days old and had already started to gain a reputation for being able to get the job done quickly and efficiently. No doubt in part to the fact that there three case was an extremely high profiled case which they had dealt with, taking only two days to do what the main agencies had taken years to do.

Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett was the man in charge of the team. A Navy SEAL who had transferred six years ago to the naval intelligence unit, he had travelled the world, dealing with the shit that the majority of normal citizens weren't even aware was happening out there. He was known for his cool head under pressure, his skill with a gun and his ability to lead his men and gain their loyalty. It had been the death of his father which had brought him back to Hawaii five days ago and he had made the decision to stay and accept the Governor's offer of running her personal taskforce, transferring to the reservist and turning his back on his change of becoming a Commander.

His first act as leader of the team, Jack boss had gone on to inform him, was to make Detective Danielle Williams his partner and his second in command. She was an amazing Detective by all accounts, clear, precise, methodical in her way of dealing with cases with a well-known talent for reading people and dealing with the aftermath of cases. She had 87 solved Homicide cases under her belt from her days in New Jersey as a lead Homicide Detective with a team of eight who she was responsible for. She had moved to Hawaii with her daughter, joined HPD and had been partnered with a native Hawaiian and had continued her perfect record of closure right up to the day that McGarrett had swooped in and taken her for his own team.

Chin Ho Kelly had been next to follow, a former Detective in HPD who had resigned after an IA investigation into some money which Kelly had apparently accepted. McGarrett should have given the man a wide berth but instead he had hired him, given him back a badge and ignored anyone who said anything about the decision to him. It made sense to Jack, the man had a perfect record, one which was about equal with Williams so if McGarrett believed him to be innocent then why not give the man a second chance? Having two skilled Detective on his team wouldn't be a bad thing after all.

The last member was Kono Kalakaua who had been in the academy at the time of her being hired, according to the records the NSA had gathered on her, she had been a pro surfer until she was in her late twenties when a bad surfing accident had damaged her knee and her career in surfing was over. She had decided to become a cop and had been asked by McGarrett to go under cover for them in their first case. Whatever he had seen in her that day had been enough for him to offer the Rookie a badge.

Jack had taken the knowledge which his boss had given him and stored it in his mind, telling the other man that he would be in touch before he hung up on him. He had slipped his badge into his jean pocket, snagged his gun from the bedside table and secured it to the waistband of his jeans before he left the hotel room armed with the key.

It had taken him fifteen minutes for him to arrive at the crime scene, he flashed his badge at the officer guarding the yellow tape who had taken a long time checking the ID before finally waving him through with a distrustful look. Jack had looked around him carefully taking in all the details of the scene before his attention had been caught by a tall man dressed casually in cargo pants, a grey t-shirt and a darker grey shirt over the top and a small blonde woman wearing a blue dress and heels both hunched down near one of the overturned vehicles. He assumed from the way the man was giving orders that the two of them were McGarrett and Williams.

He had headed over to them and introduced himself, going through the motions with them of dealing with McGarrett's obvious suspicion of him. Williams had been harder to read, she had simply remained silent allowing McGarrett to do most of the talking while her face had remained fixed in a thoughtful look which somehow had given away nothing of what she was actually thinking. She had eventually took over when it was clear McGarrett was finished with him, introducing him to Kelly who had been heading back to headquarters. He had followed him, impressed by the area they had been given before he had focused his attention on getting everything set up.

Considering the little time they had been up and running as a team, it surprised Jack to see how efficient they already were. They seemed to meld together well, bouncing ideas off of each other, covering each other weaknesses easily enough. He still found it hard to believe that McGarrett and Williams had only been partners for five day. They already seemed to be on the same page as each other and normally that took years to build up, not mere days.

They obviously ran things differently in the taskforce as well. Jack had been on a lot of raids in his time and he had never quite come across the method of throwing someone off of a rooftop and leaving them dangling there until you had the answers to your questions but the taskforce did have immunity so Jack had shrugged the move off though judging from Williams reaction to the move, McGarrett would be in the dog house for a while.

It was interesting working with them that was for sure.

"Hey, you still with me Jack?"

Jack blinked, pulling his attention away from the previous few hours and looked up at Chin, smiling at the older man as he reached up and rubbed at his neck trying to ease the tension he could feel growing in it.

"Yeah sorry about that, I was just thinking about earlier" He answered, taking his hand away from his neck and resting both palms against the surface of the high tech security table they had. He breathed out before he continued speaking. "I'm just trying to get my head around everything. I think it's safe to say that this" He stated, waving his hand around him. "Was not quite the day that I was expecting to have when I woke up this morning."

"I bet it wasn't" Chin responded, sounding amused before he turned serious. "That was Kono who just rang" He told him, indicating the phone in his hand which he slipped into his jeans pocket. "She's spoken to Danni and filled her in on everything which has happened. Danni wants us to contact Interpol and see whether we can start searching for the rest of Ivanovich's crew. There's a strong possibility that he came in with them so we might be able to ID some of them."

Jack nodded thoughtfully at him.

"That's a good plan" He said, looking down at his laptop and typing on it, moving swiftly through the databases and systems which he didn't need, searching for the link he did need. "We don't need to contact them directly though. The NSA have full access to their database and I'm a high enough level of clearance that there shouldn't be much on their systems that I can't view.

"You got your own login with them?" Chin asked him curiously.

"Yep to them and every other database you can think of" He answered with a shrug, bringing up the login page and typing in his username and password. "It will take a few moments for them to do the check and to make sure everything is above board but we'll have access to it soon enough." He told the older man, flexing out his fingers to loosen them before he stood up straight and crossed his arms.

"That should work out well" Chin responded "Kono said that Danni spoke to her about twenty, twenty five minutes ago which probably means that she and Steve are on their way back here now to see what we've found out."

"Yeah, once I'm in it shouldn't take long to navigate the system to find out about his crew" Jack assured him. "I can hack into the airline database as well for the past few months and see whether we get any hits from it. They'll probably have used one of their aliases but Interpol are pretty on top of them, the minutes an aliases is used is the minute they know about it."

"It must be pretty handy having that sort of technology and access right beneath your fingertips, it certainly would make solving our cases easier" Chin remarked with a shake of his head.

"Yeah it's pretty handy" Jack agreed "But most of the time I'm working on high tech terrorism cases. Using my access to help with a kidnapping case is new to me, plus there's all the politics and pissing match over who gets credit which is a pain" He said with a sigh, going on to explain when he caught sight of Chin's questioning look. "Okay say the NSA bring in a wanted terrorist but we used another agencies database during the case suddenly it becomes a free for all because everyone wants to have a finger in the pie and say they are responsible for it happening. If your team bring in a group of wanted kidnappers who Interpol are tracking then it's pretty safe to say that it won't be you guys who get the credit for the bust." He commented, glancing down at the screen. It was half way through loading which probably meant that someone at Interpol was ringing Jack's boss to ask why someone who was normally based in Washington DC was trying to access the database from Hawaii.

"I doubt Steve would care about that side of things." Chin said after a brief pause. "He doesn't care much about what happens after the case finished, his attention is always fixed on what is happening during the case."

Jack nodded slowly.

"That's why he has Danni though right?" He asked, noting Chin's suddenly frown. "I'm guessing that if McGarrett is focused on the current cases then it would be Danni who deals with the aftermaths of them. You know writing the reports up, getting them signed off, liaison with the medical examiners and CSU to get all the necessary reports from them. Dealing with the DA and then going to court. That sort of things. She is in charge with McGarrett right? Both of them your bosses? They work because their specialist work is different from each other so it covers everything right?" He questioned curiously.

"I wouldn't let Steve hear you say that, he still believed he's the only one in charge and that Danni is only his second in command" Chin commented lightly. "And as for what Danni does, well yeah she does do all the things you say but it's still too early for us to know if the roles we're in now will remain that way or not."

"Right" Jack said slowly, drawing out the word. "I keep forgetting that this team isn't even a week old yet" He commented, smiling when his laptop suddenly beeped twice at him. "Okay, we're now in" He announced, going to the main search database and typed in Ivanovich's full name bringing up the same details which his friend had sent him on the roof top as he scanned it carefully.

"He's definitely got aliases" Chin commented, leaning forward and staring down at Ivanovich's picture with a frown.

"Some of the guys we chase have over thirty, having only five is actually quite tame." Jack replied distractedly.

"Hey, what you guys got?"

Jack glanced up from the screen and looked over his shoulder in time to see McGarrett stride into the room, his hazel eyes focusing on them both for a moment before they flickered up to the monitor and stayed there.

"We've just accessed the Interpol database" Chin reported "Jack's just brought up Ivanovich's details and we're seeing what we can get from it."

"Good" Steve said, coming to a stop beside Chin. Jack glanced around surprised when Danni didn't appear in the room, something which Chin seemed to pick up on as well.

"Where's Danni, Steve?" He questioned curiously. Steve shrugged, looking back towards the door before he looked back at Chin.

"She said that she had something to do quickly and that she'd meet us up here" Steve replied. "Can this access who his crew is?" He questioned, turning his attention to Jack who nodded at him.

"I'm already on it McGarrett" Jack told him, as he moved through the files. "He's part of a large group of Serbians that's for sure" he commented, bringing up the pictures of the people who Ivanovich was linked to. "There's about fifty" He stated bringing the pictures up.

"We need to narrow it down" Steve said, "There's no way that fifty Serbians just stroll onto the island without someone noticing it and making a record of it."

Jack breathed out slowly, tapping his fingertips against the edge of the keyboard as his mind moved over different way of narrowing the search.

"Are those the members of Ivanovich' group?" Danni voice suddenly asked from the doorway, Jack turned, surprised to see her holding a cup holder with four large coffees in it. "I got us all a coffee from the shop across the street" She said in explanation when she caught sight of their questioning looks. "There's no point in us getting dehydrated" She commented, stopping next to Steve. She handed the drinks out, sipping her own drink before she looked at Chin with a questioning look.

"These are the people who Ivanovich has been linked to" He answered, in response to her first question. "Thanks for the drink Danni-girl" He added with a smile which Danni returned before she looked back at the screen, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Okay then" She said slowly before she turned to her partner. "Steve, you said earlier that Serbians tended to work in fairly small groups right?" She asked waiting until he nodded before she continued. "So ten would be a reasonable number for a group?"

"Yeah it would be" Steve agreed. "They can easily hire muscles to support them if they need more numbers but every member of the core group has a part to play. It's why they keep the number low as well, the less people who know their plans the harder it will be for them to fall apart if one of them happened to be captured by the authorities." He answered her, sipping at him drink.

"Okay then, so teams of ten and there's five aliases and fifty pictures up on the screen yeah?" She asked, looking towards Jack.

"Yeah" He said "I get where you're going with this Danni" He commented "If we find out the alias which Ivanovich was using when he flew into Hawaii then we should be able to work out who else he came in with when he's on that alias."

"Exactly find out the team who he's with and then we should be able to find out where they are" Danni remarked.

"It would make sense, they've probably hired or rented a place under one of the names" Chin commented with a nod.

"And that is where they'll be keeping Lowry" Steve finished, looking at his partner with a warm smile which she returned.

"We got to find it quickly though" Chin warned. "He doesn't have much time left. How long will it take you Jack to run through all them all?"

"Too long" Jack said with a frown. He stopped typing for a moment before he sighed and nodded to himself. He probably get in trouble for this but he didn't have the time to follow the rules this time. "Chin" He said firmly "If anyone asks you about this then I haven't done this okay?" He commented, typing in some code and pressing enter, waiting until his computer beeped indicating that his system and access was now available on Chin's own system.

"Done what exactly?" Chin questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I've linked you into my access point which means that you now have access to everything which I have access to. It's the only way we'll get this done in time. I'm going to run through Interpol's database and try and work out if there's anyone he works with during a job lie this. Can you hack into the Honolulu International airport files and run Ivanovich's alias against their flight records?" He asked.

Chin's eyebrow rose, a glimmer of what looked like excitement coming to his dark eyes as he began typing, following Jack's instructions.

"I can do that" He answered. Jack looked up when he felt McGarrett's eyes on him.

"Look I know you're the boss here and everything but I recognise this name" He said bringing up one of the pictures to the main monitors. "He's called Drago Zankovic and trust me when I say that this is not a man you want here on your island. If he's here and he's behind this whole thing then Lowry chances of coming out of this alive is pretty much down to zero. We have to work fast hence why I've given Chin access to my systems which technically could get me in a lot of trouble which is why I'd appreciate it if you don't say anything to anyone or if you have to then say you've accessed it. I've seen your level clearance and its high enough to view the systems." He stated, turning his attention back to his work.

"Why do it if it's going to get you into trouble, you don't know Lowry do you?" McGarrett asked him thoughtfully. Jack shook his head, his eyes flickering between McGarrett and Danni before he spoke looking back at his screen.

"Because he's a legend in my field" He answered as he ran through the networks, so far he had found four of the team. "Because he's don't more to save and help this country than anyone will know? Because he's an unsung hero who doesn't deserve this when he was only trying to protect the country he loved or maybe it's because he's a single father and I'm a single father and I don't want to be partially responsible for not getting to him in time because the rules and protocol got in the way. You can take your pick Commander." Jack said.

"How many of the names have you managed to link to Ivanovich so far Jack?" Danni asked him, a different tone to her voice though he didn't have time to analyse it.

"Seven so far" He responded, "Actually make that eight"

"Chin how is it going on your end?" McGarrett questioned the other man.

"He came in two months ago on a two month long visit visa using the alias Demetri Abakumov. The visa is due to expire in three days' time and he's already got a ticket booked for a flight to LA leaving in two days' time" Chin answered.

"Which means that they've somehow managed to plan this whole thing right down to the finest detail" Danni commented. "They knew when they were going to take it and they ensured that they were here legally. If we didn't have Jack's database then by the time we found the connections the rest of the team would have been long gone and we wouldn't have found them again." She stated, glancing down at her bag and fishing through it when her phone suddenly went off. Jack watched as she pulled it out, looking at the screen before she looked at McGarrett. "It's Toast" She told him, "Excuse me a moment" She said to him and Chin before she walked away from them. Jack heard her answer the phone before he turned back to what he was doing.

"Okay I've got all ten" Jack announced, selecting the photos and bringing them up on the computer table surface. "These are the ten faces of the people who are on the same crew as Ivanovich when he used the Abakumov alias."

McGarrett and Chin leaned over them, studying them intently when suddenly Danni hurried out of her office, running over to them, a look of concern on her face.

"Is this the group of people?" She demanded.

"Yeah, well it's the group of people who-" Jack began to say, stopping when Danni held up her hand at him, staring at the screen before she pointed at one. "This one, can you blow the picture up Jack?" She asked. Jack glanced at the one which she was pointing at before he nodded, sharing a quick look with Chin before he blew up the picture on the monitor.

"That's Nadia Lukovic" Chin said.

"No it's not" Danni said smacking her hand down on the table. "That's Natalie Reed, Roland's girlfriend. That's how they got all the information out of him, by her gaining his trust as his girlfriend which means that this whole operation has been in play for a year now."

"Danni ring Kono and give her the heads up on who Natalie Reed actually is. Chin, O'Connor get your guns, we'll head over to Lukovic's house and see whether she knows where the rest of her team currently are at the moment.

"Kono's not picking up her cell Steve" Danni said as she hung up the phone, turning to look at him with a look of concern on her face.

"Okay then, there's no time to waste then, we move out now" Steve said, checking his guns before he turned and looked at them all, his eyes moving round each of their faces with a look in his eyes which made Jack suddenly extremely glad that he was one of the good guys. "Everyone ready?" He asked waiting until they nodded before he nodded back "Let's go then"

Jack breathed out, following Chin out of the office.

One thing was for certain.

The Shit was about to hit the fan.

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read, an especially massive thank you if you've taken the time to review or favourite or follow, I really appreciate it.**


	13. If you say so Danni

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's the Chapter thirteen.**

**I always find that this happens, my brain suddenly clicks that I'm near the end and it explodes into action, suddenly wanting to write every day without fail. It happened with 'The beginning' as well. I'd hazard a guess that there are about six chapter after this one for me to write and then it will be done.**

**I'll be writing an one shot after this of the BBQ which will feature characters… I don't want to say which ones yet but there will be a second core member of 50 who will feature heavily in that one shot so hopefully you'll look out for it.**

**After that one we will jump into what will technically be story number four in the saga though it will be the third chapter story. It's a missing case story so it could easily go over twenty two chapters which seems to be the average so far.**

**I know I've said it before and I'll say it again but I am really loving writing the growing relationships and friendships between everyone in this saga. Not just the McDanni relationship though in my eyes that relationship is obviously the most important one, but all of them.**

**I also love that Steve is beginning to be able to read Danni, something which is not an easy thing to be able to do **

**I really appreciate you all coming on the McDanni journey with me and being willing to give the story a chance!**

**Anyway please enjoy the chapter! **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**It doesn't take the team long to realise that Kono might be in the slightest touch of trouble.**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

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Chapter Thirteen

If you say so Danni

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**27th September 2010**

**Ali'iolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

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Steve McGarrett's point of view

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Steve silently cursed in his head, pissed at himself for not paying greater attention to Natalie Reed or Nadia Lukovic or whatever her name actually was. He should have paid more attention to Danni when she had continued to be suspicious of the woman, he should have given her the five minutes it would have taken for her to go through the HPD record, given her a chance to confer with Jack instead of them racing to and fro on the island, talking to people who had done nothing but confirm what he had already known since that first talk with Jack.

That Roland Lowry had done something very stupid and was now paying that stupidity in the worst way.

Still there was nothing he could do about it now except put it to one side as a lesson learnt and a mistake he wouldn't make again. If Danni had one of her feelings again then he would make sure he gave her the time to explore it, it was as simple as that.

Now however he had more important things on his mind to worry about, like making sure that Kono was still safe and that she was aware of the information they had uncovered. Lukovic was no doubt a trained fighter which meant that their rookie could be in a world of trouble if Lukovic managed to take Kono by surprise. Hopefully the fact that Kono had clearly been infected by Danni's own mistrust and suspicions of the woman would be enough that she would be continually on guard, watching Lukovic for anything which seemed even the slightest bit out of the ordinary. Even a split second warning was enough to be the difference between life and death.

Breathing in, he focused his attention on the here and now and spoke, a ring of authority to his voice which had always spurred people into action in the past.

"Danno, keep trying to reach Kono on her cell phone, for all we know there might be a good reason why she didn't pick up to you the first time round" He told his partner who glanced at him once, a look of concern in her blue eyes, before she simply nodded at him, pressing down on the recall button. Steve nodded back, reaching out and placing his hand on her shoulder, squeezing down on the muscle before he moved towards the door aware of the others following him waiting for instructions. "Chin, I want you to partner up with O'Connor for the time being. Take his car and keep close to us, me and Danni are the leads on this" He told the older man who nodded at him remaining silent, a focused look in his black eyes. A glance at Jack showed the other man nodding his agreement as well. Steve had to hand it to the NSA agent, so far nothing had rattled him. "Still nothing?" He asked Danni as she came to his side, gripping her cell tightly in her hand, the only outward sign of her growing agitation.

"Nothing yet, it just keeps ringing out at the moment." She answered him, her voice sounding calm and steady as though nothing was wrong. "I'll try again when we're outside, like you said there might be a good reason why she isn't picking up, like she's in the middle of talking to Evan and had put it on silence so that it wouldn't disturb them" She suggested.

"It could be that" He responded as the four of them stepped into the elevator, hitting the button for the ground floor. He watched the doors slide silently shut before he twisted slightly so he could look at his team. O'Connor looked calm and focused, arms crossed, staring straight ahead of him with a slight frown probably going through the information which they had already gathered. Chin's face was blank of expression, his body still as though he was holding in all his emotions though Steve could guess what he would be like beneath the surface. His gaze flickered to Danni, surprised to see her watching him closely. She met his eyes, remaining quiet simply watching him before she turned to Chin when he moved, automatically reaching out and resting her hand on Chin's shoulder, offering the older man silent comfort.

Chin glanced over his shoulder at her, nodding to her though his face remained fixed in the same expression as before. Steve watched as she took her hand off his shoulder with a final pat.

Steve could tell what the older man was thinking though, he would be running through scenarios in his mind about his cousin. Was she safe? Had he trained her enough to participate in a battle with a Serbian terrorist who wouldn't hesitate to kill her if she attempted to interfere in her plans? Was she even aware of the danger that she was in or could they reach her in time?

Steve had been in the same situation more times than he wanted to remember. He focused himself, pushing away any doubts that they might not reach Kono in time and simply reached out, placing his own hand on Chin's shoulder.

"She's going to be fine" He told the other man confidently before he took his hand back and led the way out of the elevator, through the reception area and out into the bright sunshine outside. "Make sure you keep in cell contact at all times." He told his team over his shoulder as he moved towards the Camaro, unlocking it and pulling the driver's door open. His gaze flickering to Danni as she moved round the front of the car towards the passenger seat before he climbed in, slamming the door shut behind him and starting the engine up. He pulled his seatbelt on, waiting only for Danni to put her own on before he pulled out of the reserved car park space and out onto the main road. "Text Chin and O'Connor the address that Kono sent you earlier on Danni just in case they don't have it and they get separated from us" He told Danni who nodded at him, sending the text before she pressed the recall button.

"It went straight to answerphone that time" She told him, turning to look at him. Steve nodded, pressing his foot down on the accelerator pedal aware of Chin driving Jack's car behind him. He switched the sirens on watching as the traffic cleared for them instantly, allowing both cars to cut through the midday rush hour. "Lukovic has probably already figured out that Kono knows which means that we're out of time now" She said simply as she reached into the back seat and pulled a plastic bag through the gap between the chairs, dropping it onto her lap.

"Not yet Danni, there's still time. Lowry hasn't activated the key yet" He responded, his eyes narrowing at the thought before he noticed that she was still messing around with the bag, going through it. "What are you doing?" Steve asked her, his eyes flickering between the road and her as he weaved around the cars which were getting out of the way too slowly for his liking.

"I am about to change my clothes Steve" She answered him briefly, pulling out a pair of dark jeans from the bag and shaking them out slightly, smoothing a hand over them.

"Now? You're getting changed now?" He demanded, watching as she bent down and slipped her high heels off, tilting her head to the side so that she could see him.

"Yes now" She answered as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. "When else am I meant to do it exactly? When we get there? There's a pretty good chance Steve that right now the other members of the Serbian crew are at that house. Call it crazy but I don't think they'll delay the inevitable gun fight just so I can change my clothes into something slightly more suitable for action" She stated, her mouth quirking up into an amused smile before she looked away from him again.

Steve blinked at her as she put her feet through the legs and tilted her hips up off the chair, wiggling the jeans up her legs, the skirt of her dress hiding the majority of what she was doing from his eyes. He was well aware he should look away but instead he found himself watching her torn between amusement and disbelief that she was actually changing her clothes in the front seat of her car while the sirens were blaring and they were racing to a potential bloodbath.

"Danno-" He began to say, stopping when she interrupted him.

"Keep your eyes on the road Steven" She told him firmly, in the voice he was beginning to refer privately in his mind as her mothering voice. "And for god sake don't crash the car. I've got no desire to peel my face off of the dashboard just because you're a lunatic driver." She stated with a sigh as she reached down and unclipped her seatbelt. She let go of it, letting it slide back to its proper position before she reached to the right side of her torso and pulled down her zip, pulling the dress over her head revealing a dark red vest top beneath it. Steve rolled his eyes as she put her seatbelt back on before she pulled out a pair of socks and a low heeled pair of black ankle boots and slipped them on. "See all done, it didn't take long at all did it?" She remarked casually with a shrug, reaching up and checking that her hair was still out of the way before she picked up the dress and heels which were resting in her lap and put them into the bag, throwing it back into the back seat.

"You know there are easier ways of doing that then changing in the front seat of a moving car" Steve pointed out, gripping the steering wheel tightly in his hands. "Like don't bother wearing dresses to work in the first place" He suggested, looking towards her as she slipped her gun into the holster and secured it to the waistband on her jeans, finishing the look by putting her Detective badge over her head so it was resting round her neck on a chain.

"Never going to happen Partner" She told him bluntly, leaning back in the chair, crossing her arms over her chest as she tilted her head to look at him. "I happen to be a girl who likes wearing dresses and heels and therefore I shall continue to wear dresses to work. I'll just make sure that I have a spare set of clothes with me for when situations like this one arise. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." She told him, patting his forearm with a half-smile before she took her hand away her face becoming thoughtful, an expression which indicated to him that Danni had effortlessly flipped back into her work mode. "If they've taken Kono Steve then she's not going to be at the house. The first thing they'll do if they have half a brain, is move her and Evan to an undisclosed location, probably the same place where they are currently holding Lowry."

"I know Danni" He answered tapping his finger against the steering wheel as he took a right, glancing in the mirror to make sure that Jack and Chin were still with them.

"So how do you want to do this then?" She asked, moving in her seat so she was looking directly at him, an intent look in her eyes.

"We start by finding Kono and Evan, We take Lukovic and anyone with her into custody and we break them. Then we get Lowry." He told her simply. "I want you to call Chin on your phone Danni and keep him and O'Connor on the line, then take my phone and try and reach Kono again. There's a chance that her phone will be back on by now. If she's been taken then it will be the first thing she'll do because she'll know that Chin and O'Connor will be able to find her through the GPS locator chip embedded in it. Did you see whether O'Connor took his laptop with him when we left?" He queried.

"I don't know whether he did or not, I was focused on trying to reach Kono" She told him, pressing down on the number three button on her cell and hitting the button which would place Chin and Jack on loudspeaker so that Steve would be able to hear the conversation as well. The phone was picked up after only one ring.

"Danni have you managed to get through to Kono yet?" Chin asked instantly. Steve saw the brief look of guilt which came to Danni's face at his question before she shook her head, the expression melting away into her usual thoughtful one.

"Not yet Chin but I'll keep trying" She promised looking up at Steve "Where's your phone then?" She queried. Steve took one of his hand off the wheel and dug it into the pocket of his cargo pants, pulling it out and passed it to her. She took it from him and swiped at the screen, swiftly going through his contacts looking for the one she needed. Steve reached out, placing his hand on her wrist and shook his head at her

"Don't call her yet" He murmured to her, squeezing down lightly on her wrist before he let go of her and spoke in his normal tone, directing his comment towards the phone. "Chin, do me a favour and put me on loudspeaker if you haven't done it already" Steve said to the other man, turning his attention away from Danni and back to the road. He heard a button being pressed before Chin spoke.

"Done Steve, you're through to both me and Jack now." Chin informed him

"Good, O'Connor did you grab your laptop when we left headquarters?" Steve demanded.

"Yeah I did" Jack responded, his voice coming across as calm. "What do you need me to do on it?" He asked.

"Danni's going to try and reach Kono on my cell in a moment. We're going to stay on the line to you guys through Danni's phone. I need you to set up your laptop so you can get a trace on her phone so we can try and track her using it. The chances that she's still in the house at the moment are slim so we need to have all our bases covered at the moment. I'm assuming your laptop and computer system are capable of doing that right?" He questioned.

"I can do that easily enough from it" Jack responded, the slightest hint of amusement in his voice as though he found Steve's query funny. "I'll need two minutes to get into the right system to do it but after that we'll be good to go."

"How long will you need to get the track on her location Jack?" Danni asked, speaking for the first time since the beginning of the call. There was a moment's silence as though Jack was mentally working out the length of time he needed to find Kono before he spoke.

"Try and keep her on for at least a minute and a half Danni. That will give me enough time to get her location. Has her car had any GPS put into it yet?" He asked curiously. "Because if it has then I can use that to track her down as well. It's likely that if they took her from the house with the kid that they would make her drive her own car because it would look less suspicious that way."

"She hasn't got any GPS or sirens in her car yet" Chin answered. "She told me earlier on that her car is due to go into the HPD garage next Tuesday to be outfitted with everything which it needs."

"Okay then, so we rely on the GPS in her phone then to find her" Danni replied steadily. "Just give me the word for when you're ready Jack and I'll try and call her again."

Steve looked over at her but she ignored him, her attention fixed on the cell in her hand instead, her index finger lightly touching the button which would hopefully connect them to Kono this time round. She looked as though she was physically willing the younger girl to answer her call.

"Chin call us back on Danni's phone when Jack is ready to go" He said, waiting until the native made a sound of acknowledgement before he hung up.

"What did you do that for Steve?" Danni asked him with a look of confusion on her face. "I thought you wanted them to stay on the line with us?"

"I do" Steve answered, looking at her closely before he spoke, dragging one hand over the top of his hair. "Look I know what you're thinking and trust me when I say that this isn't your fault Danno" he told her simply, watching as her eyes widened in surprise as his comment. He felt a stab of satisfaction that he had guessed what was going on beneath the surface of his partner for once.

She remained silent simply looking at him before she spoke.

"My fault?" She repeated warily "What do you mean? I'm not…" Her voice trailed off, clearly catching sight of the disbelieving look on his face.

"Okay I might not know you yet as well as other people do but I can tell when you're upset over something and you are upset over this. Maybe you're just concerned for Kono's wellbeing but I've seen you concerned for her before and you've not had that look on your face which you have right now. My guess is that you're kicking yourself for not following your instincts about Lowry's supposed girlfriend. Maybe you think that if you had just taken the time to research her and look into her background to see why she set off your instincts then Kono would be okay but the fact is you're wrong" He commented lightly, turning to glance at the road.

"Wrong?" She said "Wrong how? Steve I-"

"Firstly" He interrupted, not giving her a chance to finish her sentence. "It wasn't your decision to make. I'm in charge of the taskforce, I'm the one who tells everyone where to go. It was my decision to send Kono to Lukovic's house. The same way that it was my decision not to pay attention to your feeling about the girlfriend, even though you told me about it more than once so if anyone is to blame partner then it's me, not you. You were just following orders Danni" He stated. "We've done everything right with this case. We had no reason to suspect her of being part of the gang who took Lowry especially not with the way that Evan was with her. The fact that you had an inkling that someone wasn't quite right has probably given Kono a fighting chance. It would have been worse if she had been completely blindsided and unprepared. The fact of the matter is that she knew she that she had to keep her guard up around the woman so stop beating yourself up over this. I need your head focused completely on the case Danno. I need you with me okay?" He told her.

The car was silent for a moment before Danni spoke, a strange note to her voice.

"Okay Steve" She said softly, he turned to her noticing that she was staring at him with an expression he couldn't read. He opened his mouth to question it when his phone went off, attracting both their attention to it. Steve pressed the connect button.

"McGarrett" He answered instantly.

"Jack's now ready with the trace Steve" Chin told him briefly.

"Good" Steve answered, looking towards Danni who was looking at the phone again. "Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yeah I'm ready" She responded, pressing down in the connect button and hitting the loud speaker again, her shoulders slumping down slightly in relief when the phone began ringing. She glanced up at him, biting down on her lower lip when it simply continued to ring before it was picked up.

"Steve" Kono said, her voice coming across as strained over the phone though she was clearly doing her best to hide it.

"Kono's its Danni, are we on loudspeaker?" Danni asked.

"Naw" Kono answered briefly, Steve's eyes narrowed slightly. He could hear the faint sound of an engine which probably meant that they were already on the road driving to another location. His hands tightened on the steering wheel as Danni spoke again.

"Are you okay hon?" She demanded, worry bleeding into her voice.

"Been better, been worse" Kono responded lightly.

"Kono, Natalie is a Serbian called Nadia Lukovic. She's been in this from the start. We're on our way to the house now. Where are you exactly? Are you still there or on the move?"

"Yeah the second one" Kono answered. Steve heard Danni breath in sharply but she remained silent allowing Steve to take the lead on the call.

"Copy that Kono, O'Connor is running a trace on your phone as we speak so try and stay on the line as long as you can without arousing their suspicions. Can you tell us where you are heading to exactly?" He questioned.

"Yeah I know that, I was thinking of taking Evan out to Mokuleia Beach for a swim, it might do him some good to get out of the house. Fresh air is always a good thing."

"Okay so you're heading north somewhere" Steve said thoughtfully.

"Exactly boss"

There was the sound of a struggle and another woman's voice saying something sharply before there was a cracking sound followed by silence.

"There goes Kono's phone" Danni remarked calmly as she ended the call on their end. "They must have cottoned on to what she was trying to do." Steve nodded at her before he looked at the other phone Danni was holding which was still connected to the others.

"O'Connor did you manage to get a lock on Kono's location?" He demanded.

"I know where they were before her phone was destroyed or switched off or whatever happened to it. Now that that's gone it's going to be harder to track her especially if her car has no GPS in it yet." He admitted.

"What did you get before it was destroyed?" Steve questioned with a frown.

"She was heading north like she said. She was around about five miles from Lukovic's current address on the highway 67, as to where they were going on that route that I can't tell you. You and Chin are the natives so you'll have to tell me exactly what's there because according to the map I've got up on my screen right now, there's actually not a lot."

Steve turned to Danni.

"Any thoughts?" He asked her. Danni looked at him for a moment, her eyes moving side to side as she clearly thought before she shook her head slowly, a look of frustration coming to her eyes.

"I'm not familiar enough with this part of the island to guess Steve, I don't really know what's here" Steve nodded. "Chin, what are you thinking? Any ideas about where they are heading?"

"Not really" Chin admitted. "There's a lot of places they could be heading to, our best chance would be to keep heading to Lukovic's house and tear the place apart, if they left in a hurry then there's a good chance that they might have left something behind which would indicate where exactly they are heading.

"I agree" Steve said slowly, "O'Connor keep searching for anything which might flag up as a potential place they would head."

"Yeah" Jack said thoughtfully. "There's something else I can try" He said, "I've got access to NASA which means I can pull in some favours and perhaps get access to their satellites over Hawaii. I might be able to use it to find Kono's car though don't quote me on that. This is a long shot and it depends on who I speak to."

Steve's eyebrow rose.

"Do what you can" He responded.

"You got it, I'll also look into the buildings round the area they were heading towards and see if any of them flag up. Any idea what I'm looking for?"

"It would be somewhere quiet and remote" Danni said thoughtfully. "It won't be a residential area or anywhere where there would be a lot of people traffic and potential witnesses. It's more likely to be an abandoned factory or something similar to that so look for something which would fit that description.

"Okay on it, I'll call you when I find something" He promised.

"Speak later Steve" Chin added before they hung up on him. Steve breathed out slowly before he spoke.

"We'll reach her in time Danni" He said quietly. Danni looked at him thoughtfully before she slowly nodded with a faint smile.

"Yeah I know Steve" She replied "Let's just hope Jack's idea actually goes somewhere" She commented. "You know he's very handy to have around" She remarked

Steve snorted, pressing down hard on the accelerator pedal.

"If you say so Danni"

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Author Note

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**Thanks for taking the time to read!**

**An especially massive thank you if you've left me a review or made it a favourite or decided to follow it. It means a lot to me**


	14. Sit down and shut up

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Here's chapter fourteen for you all.**

**I'm sorry for the slight delay in getting it to you but I was a bit stuck on it for a bit and then I caught Laryngitis so as you can guess I haven't exactly been in the most focused on minds at the moment but such is life. The main thing is that the chapter is here.**

**This chapter is the shortest chapter of the series so far, normally I like doing long chapters but on this occasion there was no choice for it. This one and the next one are short. The rest will end up being the usual length odd. Still over three thousands isn't too bad.**

**I like doing chapters from different people's views just so you can get a perspective of what they are thinking and what they think of others as well. On this occasion I've gone with Kono because it made the most sense to jump to her at this time considering what happened at the end up the previous chapter. It also good because you get a glimpse into Kono's background as well, something which will be expanded and commented on in future stories in this saga, especially when I do the story which is focused on Kono!**

**Anyway hopefully I've done her some justice**

**I really appreciate you all coming on the McDanni journey with me and being willing to give the story a chance!**

**Please enjoy the chapter! **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Sit down and shut up**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

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Chapter Fourteen

Sit down and shut up

* * *

**27****th**** September 2010**

**Kono Kalakaua's car on Highway 67**

**Waialua**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Kono Kalakaua's point of view

* * *

Kono hid a wince as Natalie Reed hissed at her in annoyance, passing Kono's mobile back through the gaps in the chairs to the man sitting in the back of her car, listening as he unwound the window slightly and threw the phone out of it. She swallowed as the older woman pressed the cool tip of her gun against Kono's temple, hard enough that Kono was positive that she would end up with a round shaped bruise there as a souvenir if she survived this trip.

She had been on edge all day ever since she had seen the way Danni had reacted to Natalie Reed when she had stopped Danni and Steve to question them over the case. Chin had told her on that first day that Kono could learn a lot about policing if she paid close attention to what Danni did and Kono had taken it to heart. Her cousin had always looked out for her and his advice had never failed her before and it hadn't failed her now. Danni had clearly not trusted the woman as far as she could throw her, watching her carefully with the same thoughtful look she always wore. An expression which Kono had realised after two days was used as a mask to hide everything else behind it.

Whatever it was had been enough for Steve to warn her to be careful and for Danni to repeat that warning with a look in her eyes which had set Kono onto high alert. She had scoped out Natalie's house the moment she got there using the excuse of having to make sure it was safe and secure. It was a nice house, rented and pointed to Natalie having money but she had noticed that there were no personal touches. No photos out of friends or family, no magazines or reading books out. Everything was in place, perfectly aligned with each other and the place was so clean that Kono would have sworn that no one lived there and that it was simply a show room.

She had set up the track and trace on the phone and had waited but within half an hour of the call not arriving she had realised that it wasn't going to. Whatever it was they wanted, they had it in Lowry and they had no intention of letting him go which meant that if they didn't find him soon then they would soon find his dead body instead.

Kono had kept a close watch on Evan, entertaining him the way her mother had entertained her when she had been younger and had been upset. She had befriended him just like she had been taught in the academy and had shown him pictures, trying gently to jog his memory over the morning events without unnerving him, all the while keeping an extremely close eye on Natalie as the other woman came in and out of the living room trying to make Evan eat or drink something.

Natalie moved silently around the house Kono had noticed, her awareness of everything around her surprising since she had told Kono that she worked in a recruitment firm.

She hadn't been surprised when the attack finally had occurred, she had been waiting for it since her telephone conversation with Danni when the older woman had again asked her to be careful of Natalie and telling her that she would look into her background and let her know as soon as she could what it was about Natalie that was off. The fight had been quick and extremely brutal with both of them giving it their all. Kono had sustained cuts and bruises from it but she had quickly gained the advantage from the other woman. If the older man hadn't of arrived when he did with his gun pressed against Evan's head then Kono was certain that she would have won the fight and been able to deliver to the others, Natalie or Nadia or whatever she called herself, when they arrived at her house.

Kono swallowed, nervously licking her lips as she turned her attention back to the road in front of her, gripping onto the steering wheel hard as she listened to what Natalie and the older man were saying to each other but it was a useless attempt, whatever it was they were saying they were saying it in another language which she didn't know. Instead she focused her attention on the scenery passing by her window, trying to find any key features in the landscape which she could use to describe to her team if she got the chance to speak to them again. There was a chance that Chin or Steve might be able to determine where she was heading if she did.

She estimated that she had been on the phone with them for at least forty to fifty seconds before the hand set had been ripped away from her ear and disposed of. Forty to fifty seconds wouldn't be enough for a normal trace to be able to lock onto her position but Steve had told her that it was Jack who was running the trace and Jack was NSA which meant that his equipment was better than anything which HPD had to offer. Forty to fifty seconds would have been enough for him to find her. Hell she would be willing to bet that thirty seconds would have been enough,

Kono breathed out silently, turning her gaze to the clock in the dashboard, a slight sad smile coming to her face when she saw what the time was. It was just about one in the afternoon which meant that her graduation ceremony was just about to get under way. All the people she had gone through the whole experience with would be taking their seats, dressed in the same HPD uniform which she had hung up in the locker room at work ready to slip on when she left. She swallowed hard, realising that she hadn't rang her parents or her older brother Mekhi to tell them she wasn't going to make it. They were probably already in their seats ready to cheer her on and support her. The only member of her family who wouldn't be there would be her younger brother Talon who was currently in Japan working and therefore had a legitimate excuse for not being there in her eyes. She would have to apologise to them later and take them out to dinner as both a thank you and a sorry.

She crushed down on the disappointed feeling which came over her and focused on what was more important. She could lose a lot more than the chance to graduate if she didn't pay attention to her surroundings and what was going on. She couldn't afford to miss anything, not when it could be the difference between life and death for her. She could almost picture in her mind the way the rest of the team would tell her to handle the situation if they had been there with her. Chin would tell her to remain alert and wait for any opportunities to arise so she could exploit them for her own use. Steve would tell her to simply make her own opportunities and to strike at them when they least expected it so she could have the advantage and Danni would no doubt tell her to be careful and would caution her to remain patient, pointing out in the calm way she did, that Kono had Evan to deal with and her one priority over everything was to keep the boy safe as much as possible.

Taking another deep steadying breathe, Kono decided that a little bit of all of their techniques would be the best way forward for her. She would remain alert at all time, she'd wait for any opportunities which she could take to strike at them and she would make sure that above everything else she protected Evan. It wasn't an ideal plan but it made her feel better to have something to focus on.

"Take a hard left here, any funny business again and the boy's brains will be decorating the inside of your car."

Kono glanced up in the mirror, her eyes widening for a split second when she realised that the man had spoken English for the first time since he had gotten into the back seat with Evan. She nodded once, knowing he could see her, her eyes focusing on Evan as she met his frightened blue eyes and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring look before she hit the indicator and turned left into a side lane off the main highway.

"Carry on down this road until you reach the end of it." Natalie hissed at her, finally taking the gun away from Kono's head. She rested it on her lap, the barrel still pointed directly at Kono, her finger stroking the trigger in a way that told Kono that the only reason why she was still alive was because of the man in the backseat who had given the order to take Kono with them. If Natalie had, had her way then she would have killed Kono back at the house and left the body for the others to find.

Kono focused on her driving, keeping at a steady speed so she didn't attract any unwanted attention. Her eyes narrowed as they entered what looked to be an abandoned airbase of some kind. She could see the runways, what looked like a communication tower and several buildings which looked as though they were falling into a state of disrepair. She frowned, trying desperately to remember what the place was called but the name escaped her, remaining just out of reach in her mind.

"Park in front of that white building there" The man told her, using his gun to point towards a two storey building which had once been painted white and had darkened with age and fumes to a cream colour. Kono nodded once again to show she understood the instructions before she turned the wheel slightly, bringing the car to a stop in front of the building. She looked at it closely looking for any numbers or plaques but there was nothing she could use.

"Get out of the car" Natalie hissed at her, jabbing the gun hard into Kono's side. "Try and run and the boy is dead and his blood will be on your hands." She warned. Kono shot her a look from the corner of her eyes to see if she was bluffing but the look convinced her that Natalie wasn't kidding around. She would happily kill the same boy she had been trying to take care of earlier if it came down to it.

"I'm going" Kono said, pushing the driver's door open and stepping out into the warm air, slamming it shut behind her, her eyes looking around her again. She could see the van which had been used in the kidnapping earlier sitting out in plain view so the kidnappers were clearly confident that no one would think to look for them here.

"Move round to the front of the car" Natalie shouted to her over the roof top. Kono moved, glaring at the older woman when she reached out and grabbed Kono's elbow, gun at her side again as she gave her a short sharp shake. "Move it or I shoot and say you came at me trying to escape" Natalie threatened, pushing Kono towards the two closed doors which led into the building.

Kono allowed herself to be pushed towards them, keeping her gaze fixed on Evan to make sure that he was okay. He looked unhurt though scared out of his mind but that was to be expected after everything which he had been through that day. She forced herself to smile at him when he looked at her before she looked back towards Natalie as the other woman pulled opened one of the door and shoved her through them.

Kono stumbled slightly, looking around her carefully. She could count at least five additional members of the gang patrolling the upper and lower levels of the building, all of them holding guns which she could tell from the ease with which they held them, they were well averse in using which didn't bode well for her.

There was another man sitting in front of an open laptop dressed in a suit which had seen better days. His face was bloody as though he had been beaten repeatedly, the area around his eyes already swollen and bruising into what would be an impressive black eye. He looked round as they entered, dark brown eyes widening in a mixture of horror and relief as Evan wrenched his arm from the man holding it and ran forward, managing a couple of steps before he was grabbed again.

"Dad!" He yelled, hand already stretched out towards his father as though to grab him as he struggled against the man holding him. Kono watched as she was dragged towards a chair by Natalie, as Roland Lowry came to his feet, calling his son's name before one of the men standing near the computer stepped forward and casually brought his gun down hard on Roland's back sending Roland sprawling to the floor. He looked up dazed as Evan cried out for him again before his eyes focused on Kono and Natalie as Kono was shoved down hard into one of the chair, her arms wrenched painfully behind her back. She watched as Roland's eyes skirted over her before they focused on Natalie, a look of confusion coming over his features.

"Natalie?" He asked in disbelief as the blond secured Kono's hands together as tightly as she could, the rough tape she was using cutting into the skin on Kono's wrists. "Natalie what are you doing?" He demanded, not making a move to get up off of the floor. He looked like a man on the edge, ready to give in and take that final step.

"Don't Dad, she's one of them! She's been watching you all this time. She's behind all this" Evan called out, betrayal in his voice as he looked towards Natalie as she moved around Kono, a flare of hate in his eyes which made Kono's heart ache for him before he turned his attention back to his Dad. "She's a liar Dad, everything's been a lie."

"No, no that can't be" Roland said, his hand curling into fists on the dirty stone floor.

Kono couldn't remember the last time she had felt so helpless. She could see the way Lowry's mind was going over the past year, probably focusing on scenes, looking at them in a new clinical light, searching for any hint that what his son was telling him was true. By the way his eyes suddenly darkened with despair he clearly had found some.

"Enough of this pointless talking" the older man said, his voice tinged with disgust as he roughly shook Evan, his fingertips biting into Evan's arms with enough force that it would leave bruises. "You see boy, your father here has not been very cooperative with us. He's refused to do the simple thing which we asked him to do so now we've been forced to waste valuable time bringing you here. You see" He continued to say in the same calm voice, his other hand coming up into Evan's hair, gripping the strands tightly as he yanked Evan's head back with enough force that Evan cried out in pain. "With you here perhaps your father would reconsider his objections to what we have asked him to do. Perhaps he will be willing to cooperate if it meant keeping you alive."

There was a moment of silence heavy with unspoken threats before Roland spoke, his shoulder slumping down as he slowly forced himself to his feet, the simple movement causing him a lot of pain if the grimace which came to his face was any indication.

"All right, all right, you win. I'll do what you ask just don't hurt my son" He pleaded, stumbling back onto the chair which he had been sitting on when they had first arrived at the building.

"Good," The man said with a smirk that chilled Kono, he nodded at Lowry. "I knew you would see reason eventually given the right incentive." He commented before he viciously yanked at Evan's hair again.

"Leave him the hell alone" Kono yelled at him, unable to remain silent. The man looked over his shoulder at her, studying her with cold eyes before he suddenly smirked again as though he found her entertaining, his gaze flickered to Natalie giving Kono just enough time to brace herself as Natalie punched her hard round the face, making her head ring from the blow.

"You should learn to shut your damn mouth" Natalie told her, her voice sounding nearby and unbearably smug.

"Now, now Nadia, you really must learn to control your temper" The older man commented, sounding amused as he dragged Evan to the free chair next to Kono and threw him in it, pointing at him though his gaze was still on Natalie. "Deal with him.""

"I'm on it" Natalie commented, pulling on the roll of tape which she had used to secure Kono and moving towards the back of Evan's chair pulling his arms behind his back though Kono noticed groggily that she did it a lot more gently then she had done when securing Kono.

She swallowed hard, taking a few deep breathes to focus herself before she looked back up, her gaze moving to Roland who was sat mutely in his chair, staring at Evan and Natalie with wide eyes clearly unable to believe that he was seeing the scene he was seeing. That the woman he might possible have loved had betrayed him and was now tying up his son. Kono found herself pitying the man.

"Get to work" The older man said gripping the back of Roland's neck and shoving him towards the computer screen. "We don't want something to happen which we would regret simply because you wasn't doing what was asked of you do we?"

"Okay, okay" Roland said with a final look towards his son before the turned and began typing away at his keyboard, a look of concentration on his face as he focused all his attention on the screen.

Kono closed her eyes for a moment, tilting her head to the side and spitting out the blood in her mouth. She opened her eyes again and frowned slightly as a glint of silver caught her attention. She stared at it for a moment before a small smile came to her face.

Observations had been made and she had been patient. Now it was time for some action.

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Author Note

**Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review or made it a favourite or just decided to follow it.**

**I really appreciate the support **


	15. I don't want to freak you out Blondie

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**Chapter fifteen is here!**

**And we are most definitely heading into the final phases of this story. I think there will be nineteen chapters in total, twenty if I push it but that is unlikely.**

**The case is in the final stages and there's just one or two things left for me to wrap up with some other things and then Family is over and done with! Very exciting. There will be an one shot after this story then a case called Burn and then the story after that will be 'Respect the land' which is episode three in the series. Although it will be based on the series things are changing and evolving all the time so like this one and 'the Beginning' the basic plotline might be the same as in how the case starts and finishes but everything else will be different.**

**I just find this whole world interesting to write. I mean who knew that changing male Danny to female Danni would cause such an impact. There was still plenty of stories I want to write and things I want to explore. It's just a case of getting to that end game which I have planned.**

**Anyway please enjoy the chapter! Who knows maybe this time next week I'll be putting the last chapter up, you never know!**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**I don't want to freak you out blondie but your boy Lowry has just activated the key**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter fifteen

I don't want to freak you out Blondie

* * *

**27****th**** September 2010**

**6754 Russell Street**

**Waialua **

**Hawaii**

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Danni Williams Point of View

* * *

Danni flung open the passenger side door to her car and was out of it before Steve had even brought it to a full stop, slamming the door behind her and moving quietly towards the house, her gun already in her hand as she scanned the one storied white building in front of her. It looked normal, almost peaceful in the early afternoon sunlight but Danni knew better than anyone that a nice building façade didn't hide what was happening inside, it merely just concealed it.

She moved passed the front windows, ducking down so she couldn't be seen by anyone who might have been looking towards the window at that time and continued moving towards the back gate, her eyes narrowing when she saw that the padlock on it had been blown away, no doubt by a gun of some description. She looked around her carefully, her eyes lingering on the neighbouring houses to see whether there might have been any witnesses but it looked doubtful. The time of day it was added to the fact that the surrounding driveways were empty pointed to most people being at work.

Shaking her head she looked back towards the gate for a moment wondering why whoever had done it had bothered to blow the lock off, the gate wasn't that high off of the ground and there was a nearby wall, it would have been easier if they had simply climbed over rather than risk the gunshot being heard. All it would have taken would have been one neighbour hearing it and calling it into HPD and this place would have been swarming with uniforms and Detective. It was as though the person who did this was done being careful now that they had what they wanted and was throwing caution to the wind and it was a fact which was making her extremely uneasy, her concern for Kono's wellbeing notching up a rack.

She looked over her shoulder when she felt a light touch on her shoulder, her eyes meeting Steve's before he moved to the side of her, his own gun in his hand ready for use. She caught his gaze again with her own and nodded her head to the gate lock, watching as his eyes dropped from hers to study it, the hint of a frown coming to his face before it was gone leaving behind his SEAL face. He looked up at her holding up on finger which he pointed at her, moving it slowly to the lock before he moved it to himself.

For a moment Danni wanted to point out that he could just tell her what he wanted her to do but she kept quiet. They didn't want to give their position away to anyone who might still be at the house and a voice, even a quiet voice, could still carry in the wind and arouse suspicion. Instead she nodded to him showing that she understood his directions before she looked over her shoulder towards the front door area of the house where both Chin and Jack stood, their bodies held tensely, hands gripping their guns tightly as they waited for Steve to give them the go ahead.

She looked back at Steve when he reached out and placed his hand around her wrist, squeezing down on it gently before he spoke, his voice barely audible in the silence.

"Ready?"

Danni smiled at him, her gaze dropping to his hand as he let go of her wrist, raising it above his head and holding up three fingers so that the other two could see them, he waited a split second before he dropped one finger, silently counting down.

The minute the last finger was down Danni moved, slipping past Steve and kicking the gate open, smoothly moving to the side so that Steve could pass her, moving down the alley of the house silently, stopping at the end of it, clearly listening carefully. Danni moved behind him, touching his lower back beneath his tactical vest so he knew she was there behind him before he moved forward again round the corner, his gun sweeping the area covering everything. Danni moved out as well giving him additional cover, her eyes moving round the empty back garden.

"Clear" she called out loudly, lowering her weapon slightly as she moved past Steve towards the shattered French door which led into the house.

"Clear in here as well" Chin answered her from inside.

"Yeah nothing here either" Jack added a second later.

Danni slipped her gun back into her holster absently moving towards the glass which was scattered on the patio floor and carefully hunched down next to it. Her eyes moving to the doorway as Chin and Jack appeared, gingerly stepping through the gap being careful not to disturb anything.

"It doesn't look like anyone has been here for at least thirty minutes" Chin told them, his jaw clenching slightly. "There's two tea mugs in the kitchen which are undisturbed and which are lukewarm to touch.

"Any idea what happened?" Steve questioned his gaze flickering between Chin and Jack before it focused on Danni.

"This glass pane was broken from the inside out" Danni commented thoughtfully, getting to her feet and holding her hand out to Steve. He glanced at her hand before his eyes flickered to her face with a searching look which suddenly cleared as though he got what she wanted. She watched as he reached into one of his numerous pockets and passed her a pair of gloves to put on. She took them from him and slipped them on, shooting Steve a surprised look when she realised that they fitted her small hands perfectly. She wondered briefly whether he was now keeping a pair of gloves for her handy for when she didn't have her bag with her and therefore her own supply with her but she pushed the thought away as Chin spoke.

"You sure it was?" Chin questioned, leaning forward slightly and tilting his head back towards the house clearly studying the shards of glass which had somehow remained in the frame of the doors.

"As sure as you can be without tests to confirm it" She responded with a nod of her head. "The bosses back in New Jersey PD decided after 9/11 to send the Detectives of the unit on as many training courses as possible so they would be able to deal with nearly any situation which might arise in case anything like that happened again. I've been sent to countless forensic training, medical training, gun training, hand to hand fighting training, even bomb disposal training." She told them, counting off each of them on her fingers. "I'm not an expert by any means but I can tell you that this was broken from the inside because of the way the cracking has occurred on the glass." She said waving her hand towards it. If someone had broken into the house from the outside in then the cracks would be more jagged and in a different position and pattern.

"Also there's the small fact that most of the glass shards are out the patio and not in the living room." Jack pointed out. Danni smiled slightly looking towards him.

"Well there's that small fact as well so points to the new guy" She said lightly, leaning back down and looking at one of the shards closely. "It looks like we've got blood here as well so whoever came through that pane was hurt by it." She said seriously, tilting her head to look back at Steve who was standing next to her. His arms crossed over his chest as he listened to them.

"Danni, I want you to call dispatch and get them to send down CSU and some uniforms here as soon as possible. I want this whole place locked down. Chin, you and I will search inside the house for anything which might indicate where exactly they were heading to on highway 67. O'Connor, see if there's a computer inside and hack it. I want to know everything which is on that hard drive, see if there are any emails which might indicate whether they are in the market for a buyer for the technology. I'm assuming your computer is built in with an instant translator to use if the documents or emails aren't in English?" Steve questioned.

"Is Hawaii sunny McGarrett?" Jack replied back dryly as he unfolded his arms, interlocking his fingers together and stretching them out in front of him, cracking his knuckles before he shook them out. "Leave it to me, I saw a computer in the den earlier so it shouldn't be a problem to break into it" He stated, turning from them and heading back into the house with Chin on his heels.

"Come and find me when you're done making the call Danno" Steve told her before he disappeared as well into the house. Danni breathed out, looking back down at the blood before she forced herself to stand up and move away from it, fishing out her hands free kit and slipping the ear piece into her ear, adjusting it so it was comfortable before she placed the call through to dispatch, moving towards the swimming pool while she waited for them to answer.

"Dispatch, how can I help?"

"Lily? It's Danni. I need you to send some uniforms and a team of CSU agents to 6754 Russell Street in Waialua. We've got an Officer in distress so the sooner they can get here better to secure and go through the scene the better it will be."

"I'm on it" Lily replied, the sound of tapping coming over the line. "You know it sounds to me like your job has just gone up a notch when it comes to stress and finding yourself in dangerous situations. This is the fourth time now in five days right?" Lily questioned, concern in her voice. "I hope you're watching your six"

"Watching my six?" Danni repeated with a raised eyebrow, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone. "Have you been talking to Steve?" She asked curiously.

"Steve?" Lily repeated for a moment before she spoke again "Oh wait you mean Commander McHottie? Nope I haven't spoken to him yet though I'm definitely looking forward to it now that you've mentioned it."

"You say that now but wait until you actually have to speak to him, you might not hold that view by the end of the conversation." Danni told her dryly, rolling her eyes when Lily laughed down the phone at her. "So how do you know about watching your six then?" Danni asked curiously, looking at the pool with a frown as she noticed a large wet patch next to it as though someone had been hauled out of the pool and dumped there for some reason.

"Because dear Danni, I'm what people refer to as a Marine brat" Her friend answered before her voice turned serious. "Okay CSU and the uniforms are on their way to you. ETA five minutes and they've all been informed that it's a priority blue case. You make sure you take care of yourself out there Danni-girl okay?"

"I always do" Danni assured her friend "Speak later Lily and thanks for the help"

"Anytime" Lily answered warmly before she disconnected the call.

Danni moved to the door, slipping through it and looked around her at the living room, her gaze landed on Chin as the older man looked through papers which had been discarded on the table in the middle of the room.

"You found anything in here yet?" She questioned, moving towards him and lightly touching his back as her gaze dropped to the papers, papers which at first glass appeared to be Utility bills.

"Bills nothing more than that at the moment" He replied looking up at her. "I did notice that all of them are dated from seven months ago onwards though so we probably have a time when she moved into this place which of course now begs the question on where she was staying those three months previously. What about you? Anything?"

"Uniforms and CSU are on their way ETA is five minutes and they know that it's a Priority blue crime scene so they'll be here on masse." She reassured him, patting his back before she took her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest as she focused on the room again, eyes scanning it for anything which looked even remotely out of place.

"That good" Chin commented. "So what do you think happened here then?" He asked her curiously, waving his hand around him.

Danni shrugged, moving to the door which led out onto the main hall and peered through it, her eyes landing on the destruction in the kitchen. She breathed out slowly before she looked back at Chin.

"At first glance?" She questioned, continuing to speak when he nodded at her. "Okay well at first glance I'd say that the fight between them starting in the kitchen. The room is wrecked so clearly it was a pretty intense fight, there's a knife on the ground with blood on it, so one of them managed to get a lucky hit in on the other person. Then it looks like the fight moved into this room" She said, moving back towards Chin. "Evan was possibly in the other room at the time or in here but it's unlikely he was involved in anyway. They fought through this room and then one or maybe both of them went through the glass pane. It probably hurt like hell, but with all that adrenaline pumping through them I doubt they even felt it. They carried on fighting and from the look of it ended up in the swimming pool. After that though, well your guess is as good as mine Chin because I'm not sure." She admitted, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose.

Chin nodded slowly, moving so he was standing next to her at the French doors, looking out towards the swimming pool.

"If the fight went into the water then Kono would have had the advantage. She's like a fish when it comes to swimming. Not only that but her older brother Mekhi taught her how to fight underwater. He said that if she was going to be a professional surfer then she would have to know exactly how to protect herself from everything, whether the threats were from Mother Nature or from another human being." Chin commented, dropping the papers back into the table before he lifted his hand up and dragged it roughly through his hair.

"Sounds like a sensible guy to me" Danni responded, glancing down when her phone went off. "Excuse me" She told him before she hit the connect button answering with a brisk "Williams"

"Okay Blondie I don't want to freak you out but the shit has just hit the fan, more so than usual." Toast told her, his voice muffled over the line and distorted making it hard to hear him. For a second she wondered whether it was the phone line before she realised exactly what it was.

"Toast, do me a favour and take the lollypop out of your mouth and then try again. I didn't understand a word of what you just said to me" She told the younger man looking towards Chin as she placed her hand over the hand piece of her phone. "Get Steve" She told him, turning her attention back to the call when Toast began speaking again, his voice coming across clearly this time.

"Blondie, I don't want to freak you out or anything but we might be in a hell of a lot of trouble. I made the locator thing that Commander Hard Ass asked me to make, you know the one which would tell me the instant the key went on line and I thought it would take at least twenty minutes but it actually only took ten because this equipment is off the chart. If I had-"

"Toast" Danni said, holding onto her patience by the skin of her teeth. "You can tell me all about this later but right now I need you to focus and to tell me what it is that you think if going to freak me out okay?" She stated softly, looking up as Steve entered the room with Chin behind him, his eyes immediately focusing on her with a questioning look. "Toast, Steve is here, I'm just going to put you on loud speaker so you can tell us both. Give me a second" She stated, reaching up and taking her ear piece out, disconnecting the hands free kit and hitting the loud speaker button instead "Okay, what's happened?" She asked. She heard Toast breath in deeply before he spoke, his voice surprisingly calm.

"Blondie, the Skeleton key has just gone live. Your boy Lowry is activating it as we speak."

Danni's eyes snapped up, meeting Steve's.

"When exactly did the key go active Toast?" Steve demanded. His voice cool and impersonal.

"A minute and a half ago, the minute it happened was the minute I rang Blondie like she-" His voice trailed off for a moment before he spoke again, an underlining tone of panic beneath his voice. "No, no, no this is problematic Blondie, like really problematic, like on a scale of one to ten we have gone way past ten and are now something is the millions."

"Toast" Danni said calmly. "Focus okay. I understand that something has happened which is problematic. I've got that loud and clear from you but what we need to know now is what has just happened while you've been on this call that's making you freak out a bit on me"

"Okay, I can focus, focusing is good" Toast commented, she heard him take a deep breath and when he spoke his voice was calm and professional, the way it had been when she had interviewed him the second time and she had realised that beneath his over the top façade was someone worth helping and taking a chance on. "You remember I showed you and McGarrett the radar from Honolulu international airport earlier?" He questioned

"Yeah," Danni said slowly.

"Well that radar had just disappeared, gone, up and left, gone up in smoke just gone."

"Okay we get it Toast" Steve said making no attempt to hide his frustration with the other man. "Can you trace where the hack is coming from?" He asked.

"I wish I could but this guy is good. I can't pinpoint where he is exactly but I can tell you that he's in the Waialuaarea and that he's taken down the Honolulu approach radar."

"Why would someone do that?" Danni questioned reaching up and gripping the back of her neck with her free hand.

"So that someone can fly in and out without being detected by anyone" Steve answered her. "The air traffic controllers are going to be in a state of panic trying to prevent head of collision that is all they are going to be focused on. Anything, if it's small enough, could slip through."

"So all of this has been about getting someone in and possible out without being detected?" Danni said "Who? Lowry?"

"I doubt it Danni" Chin said with a shake of his head. "Once they've got the key and the activation code from him they won't need him for anything else. They'll dispose of him and everyone else who has seen them and then escape from the island. Probably before the radar comes back online."

"Toast, keep trying to see if you can find out where the signal is coming from, try and narrowing it down as much as possible. If you find anything then call Danni" Steve told Toast. There was a moment's silence before Toast spoke.

"Yes Sir" He replied before he hung up leaving the other three looking at each other.

"Waialua is a big area to cover" Chin pointed out.

"Yeah but we can narrow the search down" Danni said thoughtfully, opening her mouth to continue when Jack suddenly appeared in the door with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"I've cracked her computer open, she had an encryption on it but I've broken it." He informed them, gripping the door frame with one of his hands. "She's been exchanging a lot of emails in the past few days with the crew she came in with" He told them.

"Okay" Steve said "And?"

"And the majority of the email have originated from a place called Dillingham airport" He went on the say.

"Dillingham airport is to the North of here just off Highway 67." Chin said giving Jack a look of approval before he looked at Danni when she spoke.

"How far from here?" She questioned.

"Six miles" He answered.

"We need to get over there now" Steve said "Danno you're with me, Chin follow with O'Connor."

Danni nodded, moving towards the door, heading through the house being careful not to disturb anything as she opened the front door and stepped out moving towards the door, a sigh of relief escaping her as she saw the first uniform squad car pull up.

"Secure the scene please" She called out to the first man out of the car before she yanked the passenger open, jumping in and close it behind her as Steve pulled away from the kerb an intent look on his face. She didn't bother making conversation with him, instead taking the time to check her gun and make sure she was ready for the upcoming battle which she knew was coming.

A loud, heavy rumble from above suddenly caught her attention causing her to move forward in her seat, peering through the window screen as a small plane roared over them, low enough that it was clear that it was landing nearby.

"Did you catch that?" Steve demanded with a look towards her.

"Yeah I did" She said sitting back in her seat. "There was no markings or tail numbers on it Steve that is the plane that the kidnappers wanted to get through unnoticed. The question is why? What is on that plane they want to get through or who are they trying to get off the island?" she demanded.

"We'll soon fine out, it's definitely not one of ours" Steve confirmed, leaning back in his chair as he pressed his foot down on the accelerator pedal.

"No it's not so where did it come from? Somewhere on the island or somewhere else?" She commented, breathing out slowly.

"I don't know Danni but I do know that O'Connor was right, that plane was heading straight towards Dillingham Airfield. I went there once when it was a skydiving school there were plenty of outbuilding there that they could be using to store Lowry and Kono" Steve told her.

Danni nodded before she turned to him, a smile coming to her face.

"Why am I not surprised that you've been skydiving?" She said with a shake of her head.

"You know it's a lot of fun to do" Steve replied with a shrug as he weaved around a car, growling at it. "Have you been before?" He asked her. Danni looked at him, a laugh of disbelief escaping her.

"Have I been skydiving?" She repeated looking at him with a raised eyebrow "No Steve I think it's safe to say I haven't been skydiving before, the thought of skydiving has never even crossed my mind."

"No?" Steve said "I think you'd enjoy it, I'll take you one day" He stated before he looked up. "We're here" He said, cutting across any response she could come up with before she could say it. Danni looked away from him, glancing towards the airfield before she looked back at him. One glance at his face making her check her gun again, her heart beginning to race as she began silently praying that none of them got shot or worse. She took a deep breath, flipping down the visor and looked at the picture of Grace, scanning her daughter's features carefully. "You ready?" Steve asked her, a strange note which she had only heard once or twice before coming to his voice.

Danni nodded, flipping the visor up before she turned to look at him.

"I'm ready."

* * *

Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read the chapter. An especially big thank you if you've left me a review or made this story a favourite or decided to follow it. I really appreciate it**


	16. Everyone out now

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Natalie Reed and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Duncan Taylor, Special Agent Jack O'Connor, Carl Wallace, Sevan Patel and Acacia Donoghue also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**So here we are with chapter sixteen.**

**This is an action chapter which I find difficult to write but hopefully I've done a good job on it because it was that one chapter every writers gets in a story which is like an Achilles heel, honestly I'm just glad I've finished it. **

**This story is definitely coming to an end now. There's just a few more things to clear up and then we are done with this one and it will be right on to the next one! Wooohooooooooooo!**

**Steve is a bit more protective of female Danni then he is of male Danny but it doesn't surprise me. Danni is important to Steve already so he's always going to keep a closer eye on her especially in the heat of battle and he won't hesitate to protect her regardless of what that might mean.**

**Anyway please enjoy!**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**Rescue time**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

Everyone out now

* * *

**27****th**** September 2010**

**Dillingham Airbase **

**Waialua**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Steve McGarrett's point of view

* * *

Steve pushed open the driver's door, his eyes instantly scanning the surrounding area, sweeping the roofs and corners of the buildings looking for any sentries which the kidnappers might have put in place to deal with anyone who stumbled across them but there was nothing as far as he could tell. Either they were too well hidden that he couldn't detect them or the kidnappers were cocky enough in their plan to believe that no one would locate them before their business was concluded.

Steve frowned slightly before he nodded to himself, option two was the most likely one.

He looked over his shoulder as Chin and Jack pulled up in Jack's rental, watching as they left it, moving towards him and Danni, guns in hands, eyes scanning the scene just as Steve had. Steve looked towards Danni but she didn't look back at him, instead her eyes were fixed on the sleek black plane which was on the otherwise empty runway.

"Danni?" He questioned, reaching across and putting his hand on her shoulder, squeezing on it for a second before he took his hand back.

"That was the plane we saw earlier so whatever is happening is going down now Steve" Danni remarked, nodding towards it before she looked back at him, her usual thoughtful look back on her face. "We don't have much time left Steve" She pointed out.

"What's the plan then Steve?" Chin asked him coming to a stop in front of him, a focused look in his dark eyes which told Steve that Chin was a few minutes away from kicking the door down himself and getting Kono out of there.

"We get in, we get the hostages out unharmed and then we deal with the kidnappers. The hostages are out own priority though, everything else is secondary." He told them, waiting until they all nodded at him, checking their guns. Steve looked away from them, focusing his attention on the buildings, scanning them looking for the most likely target where they would be hiding their operation. His eyes landed on one of the buildings, gaze narrowing when he caught sight of a light from one of the windows. His mouth quirked up into a slight smile before he looked over his shoulder at his team. "That's where they are" He told them, nodding towards it. "Keep your eyes open and move out then"

He passed them, his gaze fixed on the building, adrenaline pumping through his body making everything around him clearer. This here was the sort of situation which he was used to being in on a daily basis and one which he thrived in.

They moved round the corner of the building, keeping close to the wall before he held out his arm to stop them moving further, freezing for a moment as he looked around the corner, looking for any sign that they had company. He glanced to the side of him as Danni reached out and touched his arm, attracting his attention.

"How do you want us to take the building then?" She questioned him quietly, her gun held securely in her hands, the tip lowered to the floor. Her gaze was steady and focused.

"What do you think we should do?" He asked her in return. Danni looked surprised at the question for a moment before she shrugged.

"What do I think we should do?" She repeated, glancing over her shoulder at Chin and Jack, Steve watched as the three of them shared a quick look with each other before Danni looked back at Steve. "Okay well what I think is that if we can get eyes on Kono, Evan and Roland then we go in hot and we keep the kidnappers occupied. This looks like a two storey building so I'd send Chin and Jack through the front. Chin can cover Jack while he gets the others out. We on the other hand for to the next level and provide extra cover" She told him, raising an eyebrow at him. "What about you? Is that what you would do?" She asked.

"Yeah Danni, that's exactly what I would do." He answered unable to keep the small smirk which came to his face. "See this?" He stated, waving his free hand between the two of them. "This right here is a partnership. We work Danni."

"We work?" Danni repeated rolling her eyes. "Okay, you know what. Let's discuss how we work later on okay? When a kid and his father aren't minutes away from having a bullet in their head and when we have Kono back with us. Once all of that is done then we can sit down and talk about it until we're blue in the face about why you think we work because right now the only thing you're working on is giving me a headache so focus Steven." She commented with a shake of her head. Steve grinned at her before he looked passed her, raising his voice slightly so the other two would be able to hear from him from where they were covering them.

"Chin, O'Connor go in hot through the front door when you hear gunfire. Danni and I will find a way to get to the roof and head onto the upper level that way, we'll provide you with cover from there. O'Connor focus on the hostages, your only priority is to get them out preferably unharmed. Everyone understand?" He asked, waiting until they nodded at him before he spoke again. "Let's go then."

Steve moved, making his way round to the front of the building, his eyes tracking everything, ready to react if the need arose. He was aware of the other three behind him but only because he knew they were there. They were otherwise silent, their feet making no sound against the ground. Whoever had taught them had taught them well. The lack of guards patrolling the building concerned him, if he had been the kidnappers then he would have at least made sure there was a few of them keeping watch but there was nothing.

They came to a stop by a door which appeared to be the only entrance to the place. He closed his eyes for a brief second to focus himself, before he twisted his torso, looking carefully through the pane of glass in the door.

He counted at least three guard, all of them armed with assault rifles, seated in three chairs side by side to each other was Evan, Roland and Kono. Their arms were pulled behind their backs, secured with something though from the slight movement he could see from Kono she was clearly working on getting whatever it was off so she could fight.

He pulled back quickly, watching as Danni and Jack slipped past him, hunching down as they passed the door and the window to the side of it. Danni met his eyes.

"Kono?" She mouthed, a look of relief coming to her face when he nodded at her, letting her know that he had seen their missing member. She nodded back at him, turning her attention back to looking around her.

Steve risked another look through the window, meeting Kono's eyes when she looked towards them. He raised his gaze towards the upper level indicating without words where they would be before he looked down and raised an eyebrow at her, asking without words if she understood. She nodded slightly at him, her mouth quirking into a slight smile which she quickly hid in case any of the guards caught sight of it instead lowering her eyes to the floor.

Steve leaned back, looking around him before he looked back at Danni, indicating the ladder next to Jack with a nod of his head. She followed his gaze and nodded back, moving passed Jack and slipping her gun into her holster, gripping the ladder with her hands and pulling herself up, silently making her way up the rungs. Steve moved passed Chin and followed suit on the ladder on his side of the wall. He pulled himself onto the roof, his gaze fixed on Danni. She glanced towards him, a warm smile coming to her face before she disappeared from his sightline.

He swallowed, shaking his head, pushing down hard on the sudden rush of concern he felt before he moved towards the roof door, he tried the door handle surprised when it opened easily, allowing him access to the building. Moving in, he brought his gun up, eyes flickering over everything. There was one guard that he could see, leaning against the railings, a gun in his hand. He looked bored which worked well in Steve's favour. Boredom meant he wasn't paying attention and that was something Steve could use to his advantage.

Steve edged forward silently, his eyes flickering between the guard and everything happening on the lower floor, taking in the positions of the other guards before his gaze focused on Kono. He waited until she looked up at him before he raised four of his fingers to indicate to them that all four of them were there. He lowered them, pointing to himself before he raised another two fingers to indicate that Danni was with him before he pointed back at Kono and then to the door. She stared at him for a moment, a slight frown coming to her face before her face cleared and she nodded, just the merest jerk of her head, letting him know that she understood his instructions.

He watched her lean across and say something to Lowry and Evan but he ignored it, his gaze going back to the guard. He moved behind the man silently, his eyes flickering over his shoulder in time to realise that Natalie Reed was now standing in front of Kono, her gun pointed directly at her clearly ready to execute her.

Steve acted before she could get the shot off, wrapping his arm around the man's neck, using the tight grip to throw him of the balcony to the ground. The man yelled as he fell, attracting the other guard's attention and they opened fire on him, he hunched down, returning fire, watching as one of the guards went down in an inelegant heap, Steve's bullet in his heart. He caught a flash of movement to the side of his eyes, his gaze flickering towards it in time to see Kono spring out of her chair and take Natalie Reed down in a tangle of limbs before he focused back on his own fight.

He glanced around him as he took out another guard, his mind flickering to Danni. Where was she? Was she okay? He forced himself to focus and to continue taking down as many people as he could. A man went down from a shot that wasn't his before he could fire on Steve, he looked towards the origin of the shot instantly, a tight knot in his stomach easing when he saw Danni on the other side of the room, firing and taking down the men, though she unlike Steve wasn't aiming for kill shots.

The front door slammed open and Chin and Jack moved in, taking down some of the strays who were still standing as Jack instantly moved, taking down a man on his way as he headed past where Kono and Natalie were fighting, his gaze focused on Lowry and Evan, trusting them to cover his back while he dealt with them.

Steve cursed silently when three of the Japanese fighters suddenly focused their attention on Danni, making her pull back quickly into covers as bullets hit all around her. He growled, moving without thinking as he leapt off the balcony, grabbing the metal wire which was hanging down, shooting as he slid down it, taking out the men who were targeting his partner.

His gaze flickering to a can of methane to the side of the room, his eyes widening when he saw it on fire meaning it was about to explode.

"Everyone out NOW, NOW!" He yelled at them, watching as Chin and Jack helped Lowry while Kono focused on Evan, wrapping her arm around him as they ran towards the door. Steve turned watching as Danni jumped down from her perch and ran towards him, her eyes flickering between him and the fire, widening in understanding. Steve didn't wait, he simply reached out, grabbed her wrist and ran, pulling her with him.

They ran out the door and were a few steps away from it when it exploded, the force of it picking them all up and throwing them all hard to the ground. Steve blinked for a moment, taking a second to gather himself before he came to his feet. His gaze focusing on Danni making sure she was okay before he stood, twisting on the spot and brought his gun up pointing it at Zankovic who had escaped just after them from the blast.

"Stay exactly where you are" He said to Zankovic, watching as Danni came to her feet and headed to the man.

"Hands up, get your hands up right now" Danni called out.

Steve moved in behind her, covering her watching as Zankovic came to his feet, hands held up in the air. He watched Danni move gingerly behind the man, pulling out a pair of handcuffs from her back pocket which she used to secure him He could hear Chin and Kono speaking quietly to each other and Jack's reassuring voice speaking to Evan and Lowry informing them that the whole nightmare was over but he ignored them all. His attention on Danni as she moved around Zankovic, reaching up and running her hand over her neck, gripping it before she focused her attention on him.

"So on our second case you manage to get us nearly blown up?" She remarked tiredly, an undercurrent of amusement to her voice as she tilted her head to the side.

"Look on the bright side Danni, at least you weren't shot." He responded before he nodded at Zankovic. "Book em Danno" He said, grinning when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Book em Danno?" She repeated. "Please tell me that it's not going to become a thing for you" She complained.

"Don't you like it?" He questioned her. She seemed to consider his question carefully for a moment before she shook her head at him.

"Not really no" She answered him. "My name is Danni Steve, Danni. Danno sounds like… I don't know it sounds like a boy's name" She told him.

"I don't think so" He answered. "I think it's catchy and kind of cute." He answered before he turned and headed to the others. "Good work guys," He said to them, watching from the corner of his eyes as Danni marched Zankovic to Jack's car and threw him in the back seat, slamming the door shut behind him. "You okay?" He asked Kono who nodded at him.

"Like I said to Chin, I had everything under control boss number one" She replied cockily causing Steve to raise an eyebrow at her.

"We should head back." Danni remarked as she came up to them. Steve watched as Danni gave Kono a questioning look, smiling when Kono nodded at her before she bridged the gap and hugged the younger woman. Kono returned the hug before they separated with a smile. "I'm glad you're okay K" She remarked before she turned to look at Chin and Jack "Do you mind taking Zankovic back to headquarters and begin processing him? I'd do it myself but there's somewhere that I need to be" She asked.

"No problem Danni" Chin answered with a smile.

"Thanks" She smiled back. She looked towards Steve. "I need the keys please" She told him, a look on her face telling him that she wouldn't take no for an answer. Steve sighed, rolling his eyes as he reached into his pocket and passed the car key earning himself a smile. "See you guys back at headquarters" She remarked turning and heading towards the car before she looked back at Steve over her shoulder. "You coming?" She questioned. Steve nodded.

"Give me a sec" He called back before he looked towards the other three "Chin, O'Connor head back to headquarters like Danni says and I'll meet you there. Kono take Lowry and Evan back to their home and interview them then come back to headquarters for a mission briefing. Understood?" He said waiting until they nodded at him before he smiled and turned to Danni. "Let's go Danno"

* * *

Author note

**Thanks for taking the time to read the chapter. **

**An especially big thank you if you've taken the time to review or make this a favourite or just follow the story I really appreciate it, more than you know. **


	17. Preparations

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Amy Hanamoa and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Victoria and Janie Miller also belongs to me.**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**So here we are at the second to last chapter of this story, it's hard to believe that I'm finally here. I didn't ever expect to get this far but as I said before I can't help but write the Danni saga, there's so many idea going through my head that I literally have to write them or I would go insane I think.**

**I can't believe either that this story is three reviews away from a hundred reviews, it would mean the world to me reach that total! I never expected people to like this story so much or that people would start shipping Steve and Danni together. It's an amazing feeling.**

**There are plenty of scenes here with Danni interacting with other people but that's the point of it. I want to show the team interacting with other people. There's also a Danni-Grace scene in this chapter because I love mother and daughters moments.**

**I was thinking of doing some one shots as well for this saga in-between the chapter stories. Is this something people would be interesting in reading? I know a few people have mentioned wanted to see the beach party and to see the garage scene between Steve and Danni but done from Steve's point of view. So yeah just let me know because it would be interesting to see.**

**Nothing really more to say other than I hope you enjoy the chapter **

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

**So how long have you been working on this plan then?**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

Preparations

* * *

**27****th**** September 2010**

**Dillingham Airbase **

**Waialua**

**Hawaii**

* * *

Danni Williams point of view

* * *

Danni nodded at Steve in response to his comment, twisting her head slightly to the side so she could smile at the other members of the team, all the tension of the past hour easing out of her when they smiled back, all as relieved as she was that they had done this without anyone dying.

"I'll see you guys later" She commented, turning and walking across the tarmac to where Steve had parked her car. Her mind was already racing through everything which she needed to get done to ensure that the plan which had been floating around the back of her head over the past few hours went ahead smoothly. A plan which she could finally give her full attention to now that their case had been solved.

Danni stopped next to the driver's door and unlocked it, taking a step back so she could open it. She rolled her eyes when she realised Steve wasn't with her, a glance over her shoulder showed that they were all splitting up. Chin and Jack were heading speaking to each other quietly, matching their paces as they headed over to Jack's rental which still had Zankovic stored away in the back of it. Kono was heading towards her own car with Roland and Evan walking just slightly behind her, Roland's arm resting round Evan's shoulder in a way which told Danni that Roland would not be letting his son out of his son anytime soon. The three of them were looking a bit worse for wear though there were no serious injuries which wouldn't heal fully after a few days of rest.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Danni allowed herself to feel a glimmer of pride that they had managed to close this case without anyone dying. They were beginning to gel together, working well as a group and she was positive that the more cases they worked the more that feeling would cement.

She lifted her arms above her head, stretching before she got into the car, rolling her eyes when she realised that Steve had pushed the chair so far back that she couldn't actually reach the pedals anymore.

Growling under her breathe, she reached down and began adjusting her chair, making a mental note to herself that she would not be allowing Steve to get behind the wheel of her car anytime soon. If he wanted to drive them to crime scenes then they would just have to take his truck. She reached up and moved the mirror into the correct position, nodding with satisfaction when she realised that everything was back to exactly where it should be for her.

She turned the key in the ignition, leaning forward and turning on the air con before she revved the engine, smiling widely when it roared into life beneath her. A quick glance down at the watch on her wrist showed that she was beginning to run out of time. If her partner didn't get his ass into the car soon then he would have to catch a lift back to the headquarters with one of the others because Danni couldn't afford to be late, not when Grace was involved.

She glanced to the side of her, breathing a small sigh of relief when the passenger door of the car opened and Steve climbed in. She watched him settle down, waiting long enough for him to slip his seatbelt on before she pressed her foot down on the accelerator pulling a perfect sharp U turn heading towards the exit of the airfield. A glance in the mirror showed the others in their cars, starting their engines before she turned onto the main road and they were gone from her sight line.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before Steve suddenly spoke out loud.

"Do you care to share with me what our rush is exactly? Are you that excited to get back to headquarters to start on the paperwork for this case?" He asked her, his tone sounding lazily amused. She glanced away from the road towards him, her eyes flickering up and down him, taking him in. He was slouched down in the passenger seat, long legs stretched out in front of him while his arms were crossed over his chest. He was watching her closely, his hazel eyes narrowed as though he was trying to read her mind. She had no doubt from what she had already learnt about her new partner that was exactly what he was trying to do.

"I'm not going back to the headquarters Steve and I'm definitely not going to start the paperwork for this case today. That can wait until Monday morning to deal with along with everything else I have to catch up." She said with a sigh.

"No?" He answered her with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were one of those people who wanted to get everything done and dusted straight away"

"I am but not on a Friday night" She answered him. "It's two o clock now and I've got to be outside Grace's school at three o clock to pick her up. She doesn't like it when we're not there on time." She told him.

Steve watched her for a second, a slight frown on his face before he spoke.

"We're twenty minutes away from my house now and you told me earlier on the phone when we first spoke that Grace's school was around about ten minutes away from me, therefore Danni you have plenty of time to get there without nearly breaking all the speed limits so care to tell me what else is going on your mind because I can tell there's something else brewing in there. Something which is distracting you." He commented, a stubborn note coming to his voice which told Danni that Steve wasn't about to drop this line of inquiry anytime soon. He would keep pushing and pushing until he had all the answers which he wanted.

"Okay, okay you win." She said with a sigh, pulling to a stop at the red light, she shifted slightly on her seat so she could watch him while keeping a close eye on the light, waiting for it to change back to green. "I was thinking about Kono."

"Kono?" Steve repeated, his eyebrow raising as though he was surprised by her answer, clearly he had been expecting her to say something else to him. "What about her? She seems fine considering everything which has happened to her today. She's a resilient kid Danni."

"I know she is but that's not what I'm talking about Steve. I'm talking about the fact that Kono's missed her graduation ceremony today" Danni told him. "Resilient or not, the fact that she's missed out on her big moment if going to hurt her. Walking across that stage in front of all your peers to get that certificate is a big deal Steve. It means that all the hard work you've done, everything which you've been through has all been for something. Apart from the day I gave birth to Grace, graduating from the academy has been the proudest moment of my life so far. Kono's not going to experience that unless we do something." She told him, moving the car away from the lights when they finally shifted to green.

"Okay so what exactly do you want to do about it?" He asked her, sounding thoughtful "Because I can tell that you've got something planned already so spill Danni. What's your big idea?"

"Kono might have missed her main graduation with her peers but there's no reason why we can't give her a small one later instead." Danni told her, reaching forward and turning the radio off before she waited for him to say something.

"How long have you been planning this for her exactly?" He asked her.

"At least three hours now in-between thinking about the case, pretty much since we sent her to Natalie Reed's house." She answered honestly. "Look I'm going to drop you off at your home Steve and wait for you outside. You run in and grab your navy blues and a gift for her if you've got one for her. I'll then drop you odd at headquarters and you can tell Chin and Jack the plan, covering for them while they go and get their suits and uniforms. Meanwhile I'll go and get Grace and meet you all at the headquarters at five. Kono should be back by then from debriefing the Lowry's and then we can do the induction for her and swear her into the force."

"So who exactly is going to swear her into the force then?" Steve asked her, a strange look coming to his face which she couldn't quite read. His eyes fixed on her intently.

"She needs to be sworn in by someone already on the force so it would have to be done by either me or by Chin but to be honest Steve the only person who should do it is Chin. It would mean the world to Kono if he was the one who swore her in and the whole point of this is to make her special for her." Danni stated, hitting the indicator and pulling into Steve's road.

"Well since you seem to have everything planned in your head for this perhaps you could give me a hint about what I should give her for her graduation." Steve asked her, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Give you something useful Steve" She answered him instantly. "Maybe something she could use on her day to day job"

"What have you got her then?" Steve asked causing her to look at him with a smirk.

"Now that would be telling, you'll just have to wait to see later on" She answered him, pulling to a stop outside his house. "Here we are, get in there and get what you need and please hurry up Steve." She told him, glancing down at her watch again. Steve searched her face, a slight smile coming to his mouth before he nodded at her and pushed open the passenger door, climbing out of the car and moving up the path. She watched until he disappeared from sight before she fished her mobile out of her bag, slipping the ear piece into her ear and went through her contacts, stopping on Kono's name and pressed down on the connect button. Her eyes flickering back to the house as she waited for Steve to gather his things and returned to her.

"Hey Danni-girl" Kono answered after three rings.

"Hey yourself" Danni replied with a smile. "I forgot to mention in all the excitement of our latest gun shoot out that there is a guy currently in Roland Lowry's computer room. You can't miss him. He's very tall with dark brown hair. Just do me a favour okay and don't shoot him when you see him. He's with us."

"Okay then, don't shoot the random tall stranger in the Lowry's house or you'll be upset, I've got it. It's probably a good thing you rang because I would have probably shot him, especially after the day we've had" Kono remarked with a slight laugh, sounding tired over the phone line.

"Hey, today is nearly over and we can put this case behind us" Danni told her softly. "When you've debriefed Lowry could you give Toast a ride back to headquarters as well, he'll need to be debriefed as well."

"Sorry did you say that he's called Toast?" Kono asked, Danni smiled almost picturing the look of disbelief which would be plastered on the younger woman's face.

"Yeah Toast. Safe to say that I wasn't the one who picked his nickname for him. His real name is Adam Charles but everyone calls him Toast. It sort of suits him" She said with a slight shrug as she leaned back against her chair. "If he goes off on one about the Government and spies and his rights then just tell him that Blondie sent you and that should chill him out"

"Wait Blondie?" Kono repeated making no attempt to hide her amusement from Danni. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you're the famous Blondie that will calm him down."

"I'm hardly famous, what can I do, the guy refuses to call me anything else" Danni remarked dryly, looking to the door when a movement to the side of her caught her attention. She smiled when Steve reappeared holding a small rectangle box in one hand and a suit bag in the other which he had causally flung over his shoulder. "I've got to go Kono so give me a text when the two of you are on your way back to headquarters. Good luck with him." She said.

"Well that fills me with confident. I'll see you later though Danni-girl" Kono replied before Danni heard a click indicating that the younger girl had just hung up on her. Danni rolled her eyes, going through her contact book a second time, this time selecting Toast's number and hitting connect, her gaze flickering between the phone and Steve as he came down the path heading towards her.

"Hey Blondie, I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me here." Toast answered after one ring. "Did you manage to solve your case or is the legend dead?" He questioned.

"Your idol is safe and well" Danni responded, looking over her shoulder as Steve opened the back door and put his stuff across the back seat, his eyes coming up to meet Danni, a half-smile curving his mouth. She found herself smiling back at him before she focused her attention back on her call. "I just wanted to thank you for your help with the case Toast." She told him, watching Steve as he climbed in, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Yeah well anything for you Blondie, you know that." Toast replied, his tone coming across as half amused, half serious.

"Well I do appreciate it" Danni said before she started the car up again, waiting for Steve to buckle up before she moved away from the kerb. "The Lowry family and one of my team mates Kono are on their way back to the house now so make sure you stay out there. I've spoken to Kono so they already know that you are there. She's going to bring you back to headquarters so you can be debriefed by one of us." She told him. Toast was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Righty ho" He stated "I can hang out for a bit I guess."

"Good, we'll speak to you later then and thanks again." She commented before she hung up, pushing the phone into her jeans pocket.

"Don't tell me, that was Toast?" Steve asked her. Danni nodded, glancing away from the road for a second to look at him.

"Yeah I was just letting him know what's happened and that Kono was going to bring him in to speak to one of us." She answered, falling silent for a moment before she spoke again, a thoughtful tone to her voice. "You know, Toast was surprisingly helpful on this case Steve, having someone on our team who is good with computers and Intel might be a good thing for us." She commented lightly, aware of Steve shooting her a suspicious look.

"That was why he hired Chin" Steve pointed out. "Because he was good with technology.

"That's true but the thing with Chin is that he's a cop first, he's always going to be needed out in the field during cases, maybe if we had had someone on the team who was just focused on the computer and Intel side of things then we would have gotten the background check done sooner and figured out who Natalie Reed really was before everything happened." She pointed out softly, hitting the indicator and taking the next road on the right.

Steve was silent for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face before he spoke, his voice unreadable.

"And since you've brought this up I'm assuming that you have someone in mind to take that spot on our team then?" He questioned her.

Danni nodded slowly, gripping the steering wheel tightly in her hand before she spoke.

"I'm thinking that Toast would be good for the job" She answered him simply. She glanced at him to see him staring at her, his eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Toast?" He repeated, disbelief tinging his voice before he shook his head. "No Danni"

"Steve-" She began to say, stopping when he spoke over her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Danni, Toast is not trained at all, he's unfocused with a drug problem, you said so yourself earlier" He told her.

"I know he's not a conventional choice but all he needs is someone to be willing to take a chance on him Steve. He's bored and frustrated, maybe if he could find something to channel his genius into then he wouldn't turn to the drugs so much. He's a good guy Steve, he just needs some help." She pulled the car to a stop outside the entrance to the Aliiolani Hale and turned to look at Steve who was watching her with that same strange expression from earlier. "Just do me a favour and consider him okay? I really think that if we gave him a chance then we wouldn't regret it Steve."

Steve looked away from her, a look of frustration coming to his face, as his eyes moved side to side for a moment before he looked back at her.

"I'll think about it" He said finally causing Danni to smile widely at him.

"Good, now get out of my car Steve, I've got to go and get Grace, get home, get changed into my police uniform and get back here without Kono seeing me" She stated, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck. Steve smiled at her, shaking his head before he climbed out of the car. "Oh and Steve?" She called after him, smiling when she heard him sigh before he bent back down so he could peer into the car, looking at her with a questioning look. "Don't forget to tell Chin and Jack the plan. They'll need to get something as well."

"You want O'Connor to be there?" Steve demanded.

"Why not" She said. Steve breathed out loudly before he stood up and closed the door heading into the building. Danni waited until he was in the building before she moved away heading towards the school. She drove for about fifteen minutes before she reached her destination, parking the car and getting out. She locked it around her, looking casually around the growing crowd of parents waiting to pick their children up. She moved towards them, a smile coming to her face when she spotted Amy standing by herself, arms crossed over her chest, a bored look on her face. She headed over to her friend and stopping next to her.

"Hey Danni-girl" Amy said with a smile as she turned to look at her. "I'm glad you're here, apparently they are running about five minutes late again. I've been here for about ten minutes now waiting." Her gaze dropped to Danni's outfit. "Busy day at the office?" She said.

"Yeah you could say that" She said with a sigh before she looked at her friend. "I've got a favour I need to ask you" She admitted. Amy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What favour is that?" She asked her curiously.

"There's something which I need to do at work at five, do you think that you could look after Gracie for about thirty minutes around then? I was thinking you could meet me at my office with her and then you, me, Gracie and Billy could go to the movies and see the new Disney film together. I'll even buy dinner for the two of you as a thank you for helping me out. Meka's still going out with the other Detectives tonight right?" She asked, smiling when Amy rolled her eyes as she nodded her head.

"Yeah he is, God only know where he is going or when he'll be stumbling in tonight" Amy said with a sigh before she shrugged. "Okay you're on. Billy's been going on about seeing that movie all week so tonight is as good a time as any. I'll bring Grace and Billy to your office at five thirty and we'll go from there. It be fun" She commented casing Danni to smile at her.

"You're a lifesaver Aimz" Danni answered, looking towards the school gates as the doors opened and students began pouring out of them, all of them with the same happy expression on their faces and all of them clearly desperate to get away from the school and on with their weekend. Danni scanned their faces idly, a grin coming to her face when she saw Grace merge with her friend Janie in toll. Danni winced suddenly remembering that she had told Grace that they would go to see the Disney movie with her friend. Gracie would probably be disappointed but hopefully she would understand why they couldn't anymore.

"Mamma" Grace called out happily, a wide smile on her face as she led Janie over to where Danni was standing, letting go of her friend's arm and springing forward, wrapping her arms around Danni's waist in a tight hug which Danni returned. She gave into the temptations, burying her face in Grace's dark hair allowing the familiar strawberry smell to sooth her. She could still see the look of despair on Evan's face when he thought he had lost his father. She forced herself to forget the look, bringing her head back slightly so she could kiss Grace on the cheek before she straightened, smiling down at her daughter, her heart swelling with love for her.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news baby" She said "We're not going to be able to go to the movies with Janie tonight after all." She said, watching guiltily as Grace's face fell as she and Janie shared a look together.

"Why?" She asked staring at Danni with wide brown eyes.

"I've got something which needs to be done at work." She said placing her hand on Grace's shoulder, leaning down again so she was on the same level as her daughter. "Auntie Amy is going to look after you for a short time and then bring you to me at work. Then the three of us and Billy will go and see the movie together and then get something to eat afterwards, if it's okay with Janie's mum" Danni said looking up as the woman in question approached them. "Then Janie can come round on Sunday and spend the day with us if you want?" She suggested, breathing a silent sigh of relief when Grace's face brightened after a moment and she nodded.

"Okay then" She said, reaching out and taking Danni's hand in hers. Danni looked towards Janie's mum Victoria with a questioning look on her face. "Would that be okay with you Vickie? I'd drop her off home to you." She said.

"No problem, it actually works out well for me. I can call you tomorrow and arrange a time and everything?" She said, Danni nodded at her.

"Great, well I'll be out all day so call me on my mobile" She told the other woman smiling at her before she turned to look at Amy. "I'll drop Grace off for you in an hour or so" She told her friend who nodded at her. "Let's go home Gracie" She said to her daughter who nodded at her with a smile.

Danni breathed out a sigh of relief as she led Grace to the car before she glanced at her watch. She would have just enough time to get home, change into her uniform, get Grace changed and over to Amy's before she went to headquarters to meet up with the others.

She just hoped that everything went to plan.

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read guys!**

**An especially massive thank you if you've reviewed or made this into a favourite or decided to follow it, I really, really appreciate it.**


	18. We're a family

Family

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

**The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Roland Lowry, Evan Lowry Amy Hanamoa and Adam 'Toast' Charles do not belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for fun.**

**The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.**

**The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor also belongs to me!**

**I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well **

Author Note

**And here we finally are… at the last chapter! I can't believe that after all these months we are finally here.**

**I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who took the time to read the story, to review it, to favourite it, to follow it and to just give it a chance. The fact that this story has hit over a hundred reviews has blown my mind. Female Danny stories aren't meant to be popular so the fact that it's happened makes me so proud! The fact that people are beginning to ship McDanni makes me even happier!**

**Even though this story is finished the Danni saga most certainly is not finished. I've got three one shots to write, one of which is already in the works and obviously my next chapter story entitled 'Burn' which is a missing episode story. The first chapter of Burn will probably be up in one to two weeks. I think I might have earned a break and also I need to plot out the story in my head so I know exactly what I'm doing. Hopefully you'll all join me in that story and enjoy it.**

**Some people might not like what I've done but I'm hoping you'll be willing to give it a go and give me a chance to prove that it could work!**

**Writing the Danni saga makes me extremely happy, especially writing the characters and the way they are together. I just can't get over that I've done it!**

**Steve might be a bit hard on certain characters during his chapter but the way I view it is that he's in protective mode at the moment so that's why he's acting like he is**

**Anyway please enjoy. Any question left over from this chapter will no doubt be answered in the next story **

**That's all from m for the time being!**

Overall Summary

**When Steve McGarrett came to Hawaii to avenge his father's death he never expected to leave the Navy and stay on the island. He especially never expected to be given his own taskforce to run. Now with the life of an ex NSA Agent on the line, Steve has to prove his ability to lead his team and show everyone that 50 are here to stay. (Part Two of the Danni Saga)**

Chapter Summary

"**I solemnly sweat to faithfully support the constitution and laws of the United States of America and the State of Hawaii**

Overall Romance

**I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!**

Chapter Romance

**That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

We're a family

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**27th September 2010**

**Third Floor**

**Aliiolani Hale**

**417 King Street**

**Honolulu**

**Oahu**

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Steve McGarrett's point of view

* * *

Steve pushed open the glass door and entered the bulpen, breathing a sigh of relief when he found that it was empty. Chin and Jack must have still been downstairs in the holding area dealing with Zankovic while Kono and Danni were still out doing their own separate things which needed to be done. Kono, staying with the Lowry's to debrief them and help settled them back in after everything they've been through and Danni at her daughter's school picking her up to take her to the movies.

It had been a hell of a day for them all and unfortunately it wasn't over yet, not by a long shot or at least it wasn't for him.

He moved across the room, heading into his office and closed the door behind him, moving to the desk. He glanced down at it, a slight frown coming to his face when he saw that the number of files which had been there that morning had somehow managed to double in size, his reached out, flickering through them for a moment before he shook his head and took his hand away from them. They would have to wait.

Steve pulled out his chair and sank into it, his gaze going to his dark computer screen though he barely paid it any attention, he was too busy with his own thoughts and trying to sort them out. Or rather busy with the thoughts that Danni had planted in his head when they had been in the car together.

At first he had thought that she had been joking when she suggested that Toast joined their team as a computer and Intel specialist but a quick look at the large grey eyes which had flickered between him and the road and quickly dismissed that idea from his head. Danni had been deadly seriously about it as she explained the reasoning behind her suggestion. Steve understood where Danni was coming from, a Computer and Intel person who stayed behind in headquarters while the rest of them hit the field would be a good option for them to explore. But there had to be a better option for them to go for rather than a former criminal with a record and a drug habit and yet it appeared to Danni that there wasn't. She seemed to strongly believe that Toast deserved to be given a chance and that a job with them would be just the thing which he needed to be able to turn his life around for the better.

Steve breathed out slowly, reaching up and rubbing tiredly at his eyes, wishing he had, had more sleep the night before. He couldn't deny that the guy had helped them out without asking for anything in return. He had warned them about the key going live and had been able to give them a rough idea about where to search, something they wouldn't have had if Toast hadn't have been in Lowry's computer lab watching the screens for them. He had listened to orders and followed them to the letter but then there were the others points. The points which Steve couldn't overlook so easily.

How could Steve trust Toast to be reliable and to do his job properly? How could he trust him to put the need of the team above him own needs? How could he trust him full stop with anything? He knew next to nothing about the man and what he did know wasn't exactly fantastic.

The obvious thing to do would be to simply say no, to explain to his partner that he agreed with her idea but that they needed to find someone else, someone reliable and yet he found himself holding back on sending that text, knowing that Danni would be disappointed in him. She saw something in Toast, something which she clearly thought was worth the risk and while Steve might not trust Toast he could admit to himself that he trusted Danni and her gut feelings when it came to people.

He just wish he knew what Danni actually saw.

Making a decision, he closed his eyes for a second before he fished out his mobile from the pocket of his cargo pants and brought up the contact list, going through it before he found the one which he wanted. He hesitated for a moment, staring at the name before he pressed down on the connect button and brought the handset to his ear, listening to the ringing sound as he tapped his fingers against the surface of his desk. He heard a click followed by a cool, efficient sound voice.

"Good afternoon, you've reached Governor Jameson's office, how may I help you today?"

"It's Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett for Governor Jameson" Steve answered

"One moment Commander. I'll see if the Governor is available to take you call" The woman said, still in the same chilly tone of voice as before.

Steve's eyes narrowed slightly when he heard the irritating music which came across the line indicating that the receptionist whoever she was, had just placed him on hold. He kept his eyes fixed on his screen while he waited, blinking when the familiar voice of the Governor replaced the annoying music.

"Commander, I'm glad you've taken the time to call. Is the issue with the NSA agent now resolved?" She queried. Steve found himself nodding even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"Yes Governor, Roland Lowry is safe at home with his son and his stolen technology has been recovered." Steve answered her briskly.

"Good, please make sure you pass on my congratulations to your team for a job well done, even better is the fact that you managed to do it without almost causing an international incident between us and China. It looks like we're seeing some improvements." She commented dryly, a hint of amusement to her voice.

"That's true Ma'am." Steve responded. There was a moment's silence between them which was broken by the Governor, her previous amusement replaced with impatience.

"I'm assuming by the fact that you are still on the line rather than saying your goodbyes and hanging up means that you have something else which you would like to discuss with me?" She questioned.

"Yes Ma'am" Steve said hesitating for a moment before he continued to speak. "I'd like to add someone else to my team" He stated firmly.

"Oh?" She responded, dragging the word out. "And who might that be Commander? The last time we spoke, you mentioned that you were happy at present time with only four members in your team." She remarked.

"I was" Steve answered simply. "But it's been pointed out to me that have someone on the team who is a computer and Intel specialist and whose job it would be to stay behind and run things from here would be a good thing. It would help make us more efficient and effective as a unit."

"Well I do like when my taskforce runs efficiently and effectively" The Governor remarked thoughtfully. "Have you already got someone in mind or are you planning on looking around first?" She went on to ask.

"We've already found someone who we think fits the bill." He told her, carrying on speaking when she remained silent, clearly expecting him to continue. "His name is Adam Charles and he was accepted into MIT so we know that he's qualified. He worked with us on the Lowry case and he helped break it wide open for us."

"You say he was accepted into MIT? That makes it sounds like he didn't attend" She commented lightly after a small pause.

"He didn't, he lost his way for a while." Steve said, choosing his words carefully.

"He lost his way how Commander?" The Governor demanded, a flat tone coming to her voice.

"He got into some trouble with the law" Steve admitted truthfully, "and he's served some time doing community service though he's now finished with that." There was a long silence which was broken by the Governor sighing down the line.

"So let me get this straight Commander just so I have it straight in my head. You want to bring someone onto your team who has a criminal record, to be your computer and Intel specialist. What exactly makes him so special that you would suggest him for the job?" She asked, a thoughtful tone to his voice.

"Adam is a genius, he's good at what he does and he seems a decent guy. He deserves to be given a chance." Steve said, Danni's word from earlier coming to his mind.

"Do you trust him though?" She queried softly.

"Not yet" Steve admitted bluntly "But I rarely trust anyone"

"If you don't trust him then why suggest him for your team at all Commander? Why not do some research and find someone else who doesn't have a record and who doesn't have the other problems which you're skirting around? Surely that would be the easier option for you" She said simply.

Steve stared forward unseeingly, asking himself the same question. They were an elite team who were already building a reputation for themselves. It wouldn't be difficult to find someone else who fitted the bill for them. He spoke.

"Because Detective Williams trusts him and that's good enough for me" He stated, frowning when she remained silent.

"Give him a month's trial with you Commander" The Governor eventually said. "If after a month you can see him on our team as a permanent member then we can talk again, if not then you can let him go and find someone more suitable to replace him with." She told him.

"Yes Governor" Steve said, loosening his hand on the handset as he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Before you go Commander there is something else which we need to discuss together." She told him. "I've had a call from the Director of the Washington branch of the NSA. He's impressed with the way you team and Special Agent O'Connor worked together. This case has brought to his attention that there are a lot of former NSA agents on our island who could end up being targets one day so he's made the decision to leave Special Agent O'Connor in Hawaii. We've had a long discussion together and have come to the conclusion that Special Agent O'Connor will be a liaison officer between your team and the NSA. He'll be based with you on your team for the majority of the time, the other times when he's not with you he will be back in Washington DC working on their own private projects. The NSA have agreed due to the fact that Special Agent O'Connor being on your team, that all your clearance ratings can be increased so you can access the sensitive information which O'Connor will provide for the team."

"With all due respect to you and the director, we don't need-" Steve began to say, stopping when the Governor's voice cut across him, a cold note to her voice which had been previously lacking.

"This isn't up for a debate or for discussion Commander. This has already happened and been agreed. Special Agent Jack O'Connor is now officially a member of my taskforce and I expect you and your team to treat him as such. Having access to the NSA database is no small thing Commander, a great many people would kill you be able to have a glimpse of it. O'Connor is an extremely competent man and he'll make a good addition to the team."

"Does he know that he's been transferred yet?" Steve asked, his hand curling into a fist, frustration washing through him.

"Not yet, his Director will be calling him on the phone shortly to inform him of what has occurred. He will officially start with you in two weeks' time. I understand that he has two small daughters who he is solely responsible for so he'll have to take some time to sort things out in regards to them since they will have to move out here to Hawaii now. Obviously you are not to say anything to O'Connor until his own Director has spoken to him." She remarked, a hint of steel coming to her voice. "Now is there anything else which you wish to discuss with me Commander?" She queried.

"Nothing else Ma'am" he answered.

"Well in that case I must go, congratulations again on the case and on your two new team members" She commented before Steve heard a click indicating that the Governor had just hung up on him. Steve blinked, ending the call his end and dropped the handset onto his desk, staring at it in disbelief before he came to his feet, moving out of his office into the main room just as Chin and Jack walked in, both of them looking tired but pleased.

"Hey" Steve said, his eyes flickering between the two of them before they focused on Jack, searching for any sign that he had just received the news that he was being transferred away from everything he knew to Hawaii but there was nothing. Either Jack was an extremely good actor or he hadn't received the call yet. "Everything good with Zankovic?" He questioned.

"HPD are booking him now under the charge of kidnapping. He'll be in lock up over the weekend and then we can take a crack at him on Monday" Chin answered, reaching up and running his hand through his hair.

"Good" Steve said, "I'm glad I caught you both. Danni's come up with the idea of having Kono's induction into the force here since she's missed her graduation. She's coming back here at five for it so I suggest you both head home quickly and grab your uniforms and get back here, preferably without Kono seeing you. Danni wants this to be a surprise for Kono" He told them.

"That's a good idea" Chin said, his face brightening up at the suggestion. "It would mean a lot to Kono if we did something like this." Steve nodded.

"That's what I thought as well. Danni wants you to be the one to swear Kono in Chin, she said it would mean more to Kono if it was you doing it rather than if it was Danni doing it" He commented, watching as Chin nodded, his eyes soft.

"Sounds like Danni has thought of most things" He replied.

"Are you sure you want me there?" Jack asked in surprise "I'm not saying I won't come but this sort of sounds like a private team thing" He stated looking between the two of them, a glint of confusion in his pale eyes.

"I think it would be a good idea for you to be here as well." Steve said simply, ignoring the looks both Chin and Jack shot him, instead he focused his eyes on Chin. "Both of you go now, I'll keep Kono occupied if she gets back before you do. Don't be too long though"

Chin nodded, frowning slightly as he searched Steve's face before he spoke.

"I'll go now and get my things if you're sure you'll be okay here?" He said, waiting until Steve nodded at him before he turned and headed towards the doors of the headquarters disappearing through them. Steve watched as Jack searched him face before he spoke.

"Good thing I brought a suit with me for just in case situations" He remarked, "I'll head off as well" He said, jabbing is thumb over his shoulder as he turned and headed after Chin. Steve watched him for a moment before he ran his hand over his head, looking around him before he headed back into his office to get some of the work which was piling up done, if he didn't then he would never hear the end of it from Danni.

It was about forty minutes later when he was half way through reading one of the forensic reports when the door to his office was flung open revealing an angry, frustrated looking Jack. He watched as Jack moved to the desk stopping in front of it.

"Did you know about this?" He demanded angrily.

Steve leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the arm rests before he spoke.

"The Governor told me just before you and Chin came back" Steve answered, watching as Jack turned and began pacing the width of Steve's office. He noticed that the other man had changed into a black suit with a pale blue shirt and that he had neglected to bother with a tie. He glanced up, meeting Jack's eyes again when the man came to a stop in front of his desk and spoke.

"This is not what I want" He stated

"Yeah well it's not what I wanted either but neither of us can do anything about it, so we might as well accept that shit happens and try and make it work." Steve retorted, there was a flicker of what looked like amusement in Jack's gaze before it was swallowed by frustration again.

"Well since you seem to have all the answers perhaps you could tell me what I'm meant to tell my daughters?" He demanded, running his hand through his blond hair leaving strands sticking up on end. Steve shrugged at him, remaining silent. He had the feeling that Jack wasn't asking for his opinion on the matter, nor was he mad at Steve. He just needed someone to rant at and Steve happened to be the only one around. He watched as Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before he looked back at Steve. "Absolutely nothing will change your Governor's mind?" He asked.

"No" Steve replied simply. "Your Director has spoken and that's it. He likes the way we work apparently." Jack nodded slowly

"Well" he said eventually "I guess there could be worst teams to be placed on." He stated lightly, his mouth curving up into a slight smile.

"I guess so" Steve answered equally lightly. They were both silent for a second, staring at each other before Steve spoke, a tone of warning to his voice. "Today is all about Kono, we can talk on Monday if you need to but there's little point. The bosses have made up their mind that you're to be placed with us as a liaison officer and that is that." He remarked as he came to his feet, grabbing his mobile and moved past Jack, into the bulpen in time to see the main doors open and Kono enter with Toast. Steve gave her a sharp look, taking in the cut and bruises on her face but other than that she appeared fine which was a minor miracle considering everything she had been through that day.

He sent Danni a quick text to let her know that Kono had arrived before he turned to look at Chin who had followed the pair of them in, a bag in his hand which Steve assumed contained his uniform. His eyes flickered away from Chin towards Kono before he looked back at him. Chin nodded, letting Steve know that he understood and would keep Kono occupied until everything was ready. He watched as Chin took a step forward and lightly grabbed Kono's arm, saying something to her before they headed into his office, closing the door behind them

Steve turned and looked towards Toast who was standing near the entrance to the room, looking around him with a raised eyebrow, his gaze lingering on the high tech equipment which they already had installed. Steve spoke

"Toast, a word in my office please" He said turning and heading back into the room, his gaze flickering to Jack who was still standing there, staring into space obviously still trying to wrap his head around what had happened. "Hey, go and pick out your office okay" He told the taller man, making it clear that he was dismissing him.

Jack blinked, looking up at him before his gaze flickered towards Toast.

"No problem" He said with a nod as he tur-ned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Steve took his seat and looked at Toast.

"Sit down" he said, glancing down at his watch. He still had fifteen minutes to get changed in before Danni arrived back at the office. Danni, who would quite possibly kill him if he wasn't dressed and ready in time.

"What can I do got you?" Toast asked, sitting in the chair which Steve had indicated to him. Steve watched him for a moment, watching the way the younger man played about with his hands as he waited for Steve to speak to him.

"Tell me, how did you find today?" He asked abruptly, watching as Toast blinked at him, a look of confusion coming over his features. Whatever he had been expecting Steve to say to him, that clearly hadn't of been it.

"How did I find today?" Toast repeated. "I don't know, nerve wracking? Good? I mean I'm assuming we're talking about me helping you out and not about the rest of my day right? Because I can't see you caring if I enjoyed my cereal this morning" He commented.

"You did a good job" Steve told him, tapping his finger on the edge of his arm rest ignoring the second part of Toast's comment.

"Thanks" Toast said, a silence falling between them which caused Toast to move awkwardly in his seat.

"Danni wants to offer you a job as our Computer and Intel specialist" Steve stated, watching Toast's reaction carefully. The younger man stared at him blankly, his mouth falling open in shock as his eyes widened.

"A… a job?" He finally managed to say, his voice coming out weak. Steve nodded remaining silent. "A job on your team? Working with you guys on a daily basis? That sort of job?" Toast said.

"That tends to be what a job is" Steve commented, his eyes narrowing slightly. Toast ignored him for a moment, his eyes moving side to side as he clearly tried to take in what Steve had told him. Steve waited, watching as dark green eyes flickered up and met his, a sudden knowing look in them.

"But you don't agree with it" He said, his voice expressionless making it clear that it was a statement he was making, not a question he was asking

"No I don't" Steve answered honestly. "I look at you and I see a man who is controlled by his own addictions. A man who had a chance to make something of himself at MIT and for whatever reason blew it. I see a man who took the talents he had been given and simply wasted them. That's what I see" He told Toast.

There was a heavy silence after his words, a look of rage in Toast's eyes as he glared at Steve, his cheeks reddening. Steve expected the man to get to his feet and leave, never to return but he didn't. Instead he simply remained still, letting out a deep breath before he spoke.

"But Danni doesn't share that view does she?" He said quietly. Steve shook his head.

"Danni sees something in you, something she believes is worth taking a chance on. I don't agree with her but I trust her judgement especially when it comes to people. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and offer you a place on my team for a month's trial. If you can prove to me that Danni's trust in you isn't misplaced then I'll make the place permanent. If not you're on your own." He told him. "If you say yes though then you will be going to rehab. I will not risk the safety of my team so you can get a cheap thrill and get high. This chance that Danni is giving you" He said, leaning forward in his chair and looking directly at Toast. "Is not a chance anyone else would give you so I suggest you think long and hard about that? If you think you can't do it then say so now but if you want to try and change your life around, if you're willing to work and not disappoint the only person who think you're worth believing in then say yes and I'll see you here on Monday morning so we can get your clearance sorted. If not then good luck."

Steve got to his feet checking his watch again before he looked out of the window to see Chin and Kono leave Chin's office, Kono heading out towards the back where the ladies shower area was situated. He looked back at Toast when the younger man cleared his throat.

"I'd like to try… I mean I know that I… I want to take the chance" He said, looking at Steve. Steve looked at him hard, reading nothing but sincerity in Toast's eyes which told Steve that he really believed what he was saying.

"You will go to rehab" Steve told him flatly. "If you miss even one session then I will know about it and you will be out of this team regardless of where you're on trial or not, are we understood?" He demanded, Toast nodded at him.

"Understood Commander" Toast answered.

"I know some groups who can help you. I'll put you in contact with them later on but for now we have Kono' graduation." He said nodding towards the door. "Out" he said, watching as Toast scrambled to his feet and headed to the door way. He stopped looking over his shoulder at him.

"I just… thanks" He said awkwardly. Steve raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking" He told him before Toast nodded and quickly left the room. Steve moved round the desk, closing the door and locked it before he pulled the blinds down giving him some privacy. He stripped off his clothes and pulled on his navy blues, making sure everything was perfect before he left the room, eyes flickering around.

His gaze landed on Danni who was quietly talking to Chin about something, both of them dressed in their police uniforms. A small smile came to Steve's face when he saw that Danni had opted to wear the skirt option of the uniform though he was hardly surprised. She glanced up at him as he approached them, a smile coming to her face as she looked him up and down, her gaze landing on his tie producing a small frown.

"Look at you, did no one teach you how to do your tie without a mirror?" She demanded with a roll of her eyes as she moved towards him. Reaching up she grabbed his jacket and tugged him down until he moved towards her. He raised his eyebrow at her when she undid his tie, straightening it before she redid it, smoothing her hand down it as she gave it an approving look. "That's more like it, you can't have a messed up tie today" She told him before they positioned themselves in front of the entrance where Kono would come out of. Steve glanced over his shoulder to see Jack and Toast standing in the background watching the scene. Jack appeared calm now while Toast merely watched them all with a look of disbelief in his eyes. "Steve" Danni murmured, instantly attracting his attention, he glanced at her, following her gaze when she nodded forward just as Kono left the bathroom

Kono took a few steps towards them, her gaze down on the ground before she brought it up, a startled look coming over her face as her eyes moved over the three of them, before she looked over her head at the other two as well. She stopped in front of them, remaining silent as though she didn't quite believe her own eyes. Steve glanced at Chin when he spoke to her in perfect Hawaiian. Kono nodded at him, the two cousins sharing a warm look with each other. Steve looked towards Danni when she reached out and gently touched his back, her gaze on Kono as she lightly pushed him forward, indicating without words for him to go first and get the proceedings underway

Steve moved, taking a few steps before he stopped and held out the wooden box he had been holding to her, watching as she took it from him, her eyes flickering up to his before they lowered back to the box.

"Go ahead" He told her. "Open it." Kono nodded, slowly lifting the lid, a smile coming to her face as she studied the contents of it.

"A Kel-Tec nine-mil" She said, her fingertips moving across the surface of the gun. "Very nice."

"It makes for a good back up weapon, you can keep it either in your belt or in your ankle strap. It won't need another holster" He explained to her, watching as she nodded at him, she swallowed looking back up at him.

"Thank you boss, its perfect" She stated, Steve nodded at her, acknowledging her comment before he spoke.

"I'm sorry you were put in danger today. We care for each other like a family, so please know that all of us will always do everything we can to protect you and to keep you safe." He promised, taking a step back so he was back in line with the others. He glanced towards Danni as she moved forward, stopping in front of Kono with a smile.

"I'm sorry you missed your graduation today but hopefully this makes up for it a bit." Danni remarked quietly. Kono looked at her closely.

"Your idea?" she asked curiously causing Danni to shrug at her.

"It was all of our idea" She responded simply before she reached up and unclasped a necklace she was wearing. She brought it out from around her neck and held it out to Kono who took it with the same startled look that she wore before. "It's Saint Michael, he's the patron saint of-"

"Law enforcement" Kono said with a nod, looking down at it before she looked up with a smile, "I've seen other cops wear them but I didn't realise you wore one Danni."

"I doubt you'll be needing much protection with your crazy kung Fu skills but it's never a bad thing to have a backup just in case" Danni commented. "My father gave me that necklace on my own graduation day. I've never taken it off and it's always kept me safe thought I'm not sure that even Saint Michael can keep me safe now that Steve is in my life." She commented with a smile, looking over her shoulder at him. Steve grinned back at her, eyes scanning her face.

"Danni" Kono said attracting Danni's attention away from Steve back to her. "If your Dad gave you this then…"

"Don't" Danni interrupted softly. "It's a gift, my Dad would be more than happy for me to pass this on to you." She said. Kono nodded, reaching forward and hugging Danni.

"Thank you Danni" Kono said when they separated, reaching up and putting Danni's necklace on. Steve glanced towards Danni, reaching out and lightly touching her back when she re-joined him before they both looked towards Chin as he stepped forward and handed Kono another box

"You really proved yourself out there today, you've earned all of this" He said. Steve watched as Kono opened the box, her eyes filling with tears before she looked up at Chin when he continued to speak. "And for the record I wouldn't have missed your graduation for anything" He told her, they shared a brief hug before Chin stepped back his voice becoming serious. "Now it's time Kono, raise your right hand and repeat after me" He instructed, waiting until Kono did before he continued to speak. "I solemnly sweat to faithfully support the constitution and laws of the United States of America and the state of Hawaii"

Kono nodded and began repeating the words.

Steve listened until the end. Smiling when Kono looked at them all, her eyes bright in her face.

"Guys thank you for this" She told them. "This… this means the world to me"

"Don't mention it" Steve told her. Kono nodded, looking at them.

"Drinks on me?" She suggested.

"I would love to but I can't" Danni said with a look of regret. "Gracie will be here any minute and then we're off to the movies" She remarked, picking up a bag from the floor. "But the rest of you go and have a good time" she told them, slipping past Kono and into the bathroom. Steve reached up and dragged his tie off, looking at Chin and Kono.

"I'm up for drink" He told them.

"Me too" Chin added. "Just let me get changed and we'll go" Steve nodded, heading back into his office and quickly changed back into his other clothes, breathing a sigh of relief as he left the office again, suit bag in hand. Danni was back talking quietly to Toast, dressed in her blue dress from earlier again. Whatever she was saying seemed to calm the younger man down.

She looked toward Steve and headed over to him.

"That went well" She said happily, touching his arm.

"Thanks to you" He told her with a smile. Danni opened her mouth to say something when her phone suddenly went off, she glanced down at it looking up at him.

"That's Amy, she and Gracie and Billy are outside waiting for me so I've got to call but I'll call you tonight okay? Around nine?"

"I'll be around" He promised. Danni nodded smiling at him as she squeezed his arm before she let go and hurried from the room with a wave at the others, she was followed swiftly by Toast. Steve stared after her wishing she could come with them for the drinks. He glanced towards Chin and Kono when they coughed at him before he nodded.

"Okay let's go, O'Connor you coming?" He asked. The blond man nodded, his blazer flung casually over his shoulder.

"I'm in" He answered.

Steve nodded looking at them before he headed towards the door.

This might just work after all.

* * *

Author Note

**And it's now done!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has read it and an especially big thanks to everyone who has left a review or followed it or made it a favourite.**

**I hope to see you all at the next story!**


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